Fate Alter Altar
by Zagarathian
Summary: Someone rescued a young girl from a terrible fate. A promise was made. Now, the time line is changed dramatically. Allies are now enemies, alliances of the strangest nature. Everything started eleven years ago...
1. Day X: Fated Time And Meeting

**Sorry for leaving Fate/Stay Knight unfinished, but in a sorrowful accident, the data that I had on writing that got deleted. Everything, story data, background info, etc. all up in digital smoke. *sob***

**That said, until I can get back that data, I'll work on this which I still have data on.**

**I'm trying a different style of writing this time, trying to reflect Nasu's wonderful prose. Please voice your thoughts on it.**

**

* * *

**

Fate/Alliance

Prologue: Fated Time

Once again, I am at the altar. There is no difference in this one, the one before, or the one yet to come. Yet… this time… I feel so sad…

Ah. Of course. I know why.

I know why I've won but feel so sad. I'm leaving everything behind. I've already abandoned everything else, why should those I care about affect me.

**Because you're leaving them…**

Of course I'm leaving them. I'm leaving them because I care…

**You're only deluding yourself…**

No I'm not!

**You can't face them, so you're running from them…**

NO!!! I have to fix everything!

**False pretenses with pretty words…**

**Nothing more…**

**Nothing less…**

Shut up!

Shut up!

Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!

Shut up! Because if you don't…

If you don't…

…

…

I'm going to have to accept it as real…

I'm going now… I can't afford to waste anymore time…

Ah… Those who I love shout for me. They call out my name desperately, but it is futile. They beg me to change my decision…

I have to hurry before I change my own mind. I can't turn around and look at them. If I see them again… I'll abandon myself to be with them…

So I have to be firm. For once in my life, I can't listen to others. I won't obey them. I will wish, with all my heart, for my own selfish desires.

That said…

"Holy Grail… take me back to that fated time… eleven years ago."

I heard a collective gasp behind me. The gasp turned into a wind, it flowed into the Holy Grail and into me. I close my eyes… and await for my judgment. No… my judgment had already came and passed. It was already decided the moment I chose my path. Perhaps this is just me trying to find a lighter sentence… and therefore, is a selfish wish…

…

The winds howled. It roared. And in the winds, my screams were drowned out. I could feel my body being torn to shreds. This was to be expected. The human body cannot handle crossing the thresholds of the universe, especially without any protection. My skin is scraped off. My muscles cut and sewn together endlessly. My bones broken and charred until they invert in themselves.

But this pain is nothing.

This pain pales in comparison to what I've been through. No… I pale in comparison to what others have been through. Living a sheltered life, how can I say that I understand others? They've gone through much worse than I have.

This is the only thought retaining my sanity.

In all this pain, that one thought shone through the pain. I have to save ------------ life. The one that ended eleven years ago. And in doing so… maybe… just maybe… I can save my own…

Chapter 1: Fated Meeting

Peering through the swirls of colors around me, I see my destination. Ten or ten thousand years and I still would never believe that this place would change. My hometown. I was born here. I lived here. I fought here. I died here.

I moved quickly and head to the far hill. It takes around three hours of running to reach my house from the temple on the side of the mountain. Three hours if I was a normal human.

I am not a normal human however. I ceased to be a human long ago. And so the crossing takes a matter of minutes as I leapt from tree to tree, rooftops to rooftops. I take care not to stray too near to my _former_ home. There is too much of a risk if I go too near. The boundary is well made. I don't know how well made, or whether it will detect me or not. Not that it really mattered. My destination was not here. On a hill, just slightly further up, there are several houses. One of which is secluded far from neighbors.

Makiri, an old and proud lineage of magi live there. No, I suppose that they've called themselves the Matou to fit in more with the Japanese area. Well, I could care less about their history. I'm only interested in one person and one person only… even if she's not --------.

"!"

My voice lets out a strangled gasp as I land in their yard. The air is thick with mana. Even if this house has a good ley line, which it doesn't really, or even if the mana is just being absorbed, as per their skill, the air should not be this saturated. No… I can't even say that the air is saturated. More like… the air around here… it's polluted.

My eyes narrow as I quickly made my way to the door. Picking the lock is simple enough for me, but I don't have the patience, or the respect, to do so now. Therefore, the simplest answer is to simply blow down the door.

Without even bothering to take my shoes off, I rush through the house. I quickly pinpoint my destination: around thirty feet straight down, entrance behind the bookcase in the far right study.

What came out of the passageway was a torrent of stagnant and malignant air. I resist the urge to vomit. If outside it was air polluted with mana, then in here, it was mana tainted with air. My lungs burn as I try to bring in more oxygen. All I do is inhale the toxic mana. My body can process the mana well enough, so I'm relatively safe. I can't believe for an instant that any human would be able to stand this condition, be they magi or not.

Bracing myself, I hurry down the stony steps. They descend into a dark abyss, from which flowed, not only the toxic air, but a scent of decay and death. The air here is sweet… sickeningly sweet. This is the scent of flesh dying and decomposing. Of course, this is to be expected. After all, I'm in the middle of a tomb.

At the bottom floor, an area that I dared not approach, there was a lone figure, a lone girl, lying in the middle of a pool of darkness. She wore nothing, and even in the dim light, she radiated purity and innocence.

My eyes shifted their gaze slightly and I saw that she was not alone. The mass surrounding her, the writhing darkness, were countless thousands of worms. Squirming over her, the worms tugged at her skin, burrowed into her flesh, and devoured her nerves. All the while she was screaming. All the while an old man cackles.

Damn that grail. It seems that it exists only to bring misery and sadness. If it can't do that directly, then it'll do so indirectly. It would seem that I am too late once again.

No. There may be time yet. I have not been noticed yet. I can still act where I can.

I ready three blades in my right hand and three blades in my left hand. I grip them with the sides of my fingers. The blades are thin. They are too thin to be used to slash and their center is near the tip, offsetting their usefulness in clashing blades. Instead, these are meant to be thrown. The Black Keys.

Ordinarily, I would not be one to use these blades. The Black Keys are weapons used solely by members of the Church and I'm not one of them. Their specialty is pinning one's shadow to the ground. No matter how hard one struggles, their shadow will refuse to leave them, and so both are stuck by the blade.

I let all six blades fly deftly from my hands and they form a ring around the girl.

"What?!" the old man cries out.

With a snap of my fingers, the blades ignited and the surrounding worms were burned to ashes. I do not have the Sacred Cremation Rites that a certain Executioner uses, but I can improvise.

Interlude

The old man looked towards the area where the blades flew from.

There, standing tall in the darkness, was a figure draped in a red cloak. He glared at the old man. The old man glared back.

"How dare you interrupt the initiation ritual?!" the old man spat out.

The old man, Makiri Zouken, no, Matou Zouken, knew he should tread cautiously. Two hundred years worth of experience meant that not much can surprise him. Not many can even pose a danger to him.

However, the figure that stands atop the stairs was another matter completely. There was something uncanny about this man. While his magical prowess seems almost nonexistent, which was how he was able to slip by without disturbing the boundary field, every danger bell in his mind sounded off. This man was not someone to trifle with.

Getting over his initial shock, Matou Zouken started grinning inwardly. While the ritual was interrupted, it was by no means a failure… he could always start again. Besides, the arrival of a new piece might make this game a little more fun. Zouken could feel the cogs in his mind turning already. There was no doubt that this person was strong. He could sense it. There is an aura, a desperate grasping for something in the air. This person could be manipulated relatively easy; he could always use another strong piece.

"Sorry, but I can't stand to see a girl hurt in front of me," the red clad person stated with a cocky grin. He still made no move to go anywhere near the remaining worms.

Zouken frowned slightly. If only he would come a little closer, the worms would drain him dry. Then, Zouken would be free to deal with him as per his whim. His smile crept back full force. The answer was simple. If he won't come down here willingly, then force a situation where he has to; and the perfect piece was just lying there too. First though, he will try to get some more information.

"I do not know if you were properly raised as a magus or not," Zouken started slowly, his eyes searching the figure for any change that would give information, "But magi families pass down their Magic Crests, which will induce pain. She," Zouken tilts his head slightly at the girl, "Is to be the new successor. Therefore, she must inherit this crest and pain."

"And violating her humanity is all part of the plan, yes?" came a mocking reply.

Zouken quickly closes his eyes to hold off his surprise. This person knew a lot. Then he must be -------.

"Let's cut the charades Zouken," the figure said quickly. "I'm here for one thing and one thing only: to stop you from hurting Sakura."

Zouken could almost jump in glee. He could have known from the moment the person revealed himself, but his statement just now confirmed everything. 'Sakura.' The way he said her name was tender, affectionately even. This girl obviously means a lot to him. Which makes him easier to manipulate, just like a certain other fool.

"And what would you have me do?" Zouken replied humbly.

"For one thing, not put the Crest Worm in –"

"Ah, I'm sorry but that cannot be done," Zouken said with a grim smile. He saw how his eyes widened almost comically. "After all, the Crest Worm is already in her." He won't question how this stranger knows about the Crest Worm. This was his biggest bargaining chip on the table. He should be able to sway him easily enough if he already knows what the Crest Worm can do.

"Wha----t?" he said slowly. His brain can't keep up. Sakura. Crest Worm. Sakura. Crest Worm. Got to keep Crest Worm from Sakura. Got to keep Sakura from Crest Worm. Plan failed. Crest Worm. Got to keep…. Crest Worm. Sakura from Sakura. Plan Worm. Sakura. Crest. Failed. Failed Sakura. Failed. Failed! Failed! Failed!! FAiLED!! FaIlED!! fAIldEd!! FAiLeD!!! FAILED! FAILED! FAILED!!!

"You should already know what this means," Zouken states evilly. There's no longer any need to try and pretend to be nice. This person knows about the Crest Worm, so he'll know what it means regarding Sakura. "Her life is in my hands now."

Zouken smirked as he looked up at the figure. He was mumbling, "Failure," over and over. If he can be broken this easily, then his mind must not be that strong. Zouken sighed… He had hoped that this person would have resisted slightly more. That would have made the game a bit more challenging and would have been more fun to crush whatever spirit he still had. Why did he have to ask about the Crest Worm first?! It would have been much for fun to reveal that at the end and shatter his mind completely. Whoever this person was, the girl must mean quite a bit to him.

"Damn, I didn't think that I would be this late," he muttered as his eyes hardened and strengthened their resolve. "Then you'll keep any from the Makiri line from harming her."

"Wha---t?" This time, Zouken was the one stating slowly. For a second, it seemed like he had a meltdown. Zouken was seriously considering taking his body since it looked like his brain had imploded from the revelation. Yet here he was still demanding as if he wasn't all that fazed. Zouken's eyes narrowed. No, he was clearly shaken up when he heard. He's just accepting it and moving on with what he can. Fine, two can play at that. Normally, the negotiations should precede the trump cards, so that both sides can see what the other has to offer, but nonetheless, as he held her life in his hand, his victory is assured.

"And what have I to gain from that?"

A cruel smile in the darkness. Zouken was taken aback. Even knowing that her life was on the line, this person still has something he believes can trump the Crest Worm?! Impossible!

"You've nothing to gain, and everything to keep," a cold and merciless laughter. "I've heard that the Makiri have kept safe invaluable tomes. I've heard that hundreds of them are in this very house. It would be quite a shame if say, oh I don't know, an accidental fire was to wipe them out."

"You wouldn't?!" Zouken gasped out. Pretenses aside, Zouken knows what's a bluff and what's not, and this man is clearly being very, very, gravely serious.

To magi, ones self is of little importance compared to the family line. Each generation is to add on to the family line, increasing knowledge, Magic Circuits, etc. The family Magic Crest is the epitome of this ideal. Each successor slowly adds to their Magic Crest before passing it on to the next generation. In this way, they not only preserve their legacy of their era, but ensure that the family lives through eternity.

That said, to lose or ruin the hard work of countless generations is the ultimate sin to a magus. In a sense, not only do they lose their family, they also lose their identity.

For Zouken, while he knows that the knowledge the Makiri has accumulated for hundreds of years are safeguarded so well that not even he can easily destroy them if he wants to, he knows, or rather, he feels that the being in front of him can and will destroy every archive in this house.

Zouken is many things: clever, cunning, sly, sadistic; but he is no fool. Even with the girl as the bargaining chip, he knows that he will crumble first if faced with losing the girl or the tomes. He is a true magus after all. The line comes before ones self.

But he would not fall as a coward. He knows too that this man has just played his own trump card. Both sides will now have to negotiate to avoid having to use their respective trump cards. Still, Zouken knows that he is trapped in a corner. He cannot afford to lose his family's knowledge, but he also cannot afford to sacrifice his experiment just yet. Hopefully, he can bluff this person long enough to avoid those scenarios.

"I'll offer you a deal," the figure stated with all seriousness. "Keeping her safe would be in both our interests. I just want to keep her safer than simply being alive. Neither of us would want say, her heart, to get crushed, now would we?"

Zouken had to swallow hard the bile that was creeping up his throat. His skin was clammy with cold sweat. His weak and fragile heart was threatening to break out of his ribcage. They both knew the insinuation.

This person knows.

This person knows!

This person knows?!

"And, what else?" Zouken asks carefully. He has to gather what this person really knows. This could be all a bluff, but he has to know all the terms and weigh them out carefully. With his own advantage gone, he can only negotiate the old fashion way.

The person narrowed his eyes. "That's all. Keep her safe, especially from those whose bloodline is Makiri." Zouken was amazed that he could see the pupils turning into slits. "Especially you," he spat. "Do that and you get to keep your family's line and life."

"Hmm," Zouken muttered as he thought deeply. "If you really wanted to destroy me and the family line, you would have done so already. Instead, you are bargaining all that for just one girl's life. What would you do if I killed her now?"

He laughed. Simply and purely, he laughed. Zouken was amazed. Despite holding the girl hostage, this person simply isn't fazed at all. Was he wrong about the feelings harbored for the girl?

"You won't do it," he answered simply. "You won't kill her. She's too important to you right now to kill. Aside from that, you would never risk your family's line to that point. No, even more importantly, you would never risk your life, your own goal, to that extent. Face it, you have no voice in the matter."

Zouken narrowed his eyes. He's cornered and he knows it. He can't back out of it. He can't charge ahead. There is nowhere for him to maneuver. From the very beginning when the figure first trespassed into this area, this end was already decided.

"Very well," Zouken uttered with a heavy breath. If he stands to gain nothing and only lose, then he must keep his losses minimal.

"Not so fast," the figure said suddenly, causing Zouken to snap open his eyes. "I want a contract, magically binding to the terms."

Zouken's mind reeled and the cogs start moving at top speed. "Very well," he said in a slightly triumphant voice. "Come down here so that we can make a contract."

Interlude Out

It hurts.

It hurts.

It hurts.

It hurts.

It hurts.

It hurts.

It hurts so badly.

It hurts so much.

Why?

Why does it hurt?!

Two thoughts flashed through her head. I am Sakura. A-I-U-E-O-Ka-Ki…

She was going insane. There's no way a human can withstand this kind of pain and still be sane. Therefore, she must be insane. But then why can she still think so rationally. She knows who she is and she haven't forgotten her hiragana yet.

Her mind reels. Images flashed by as she tried to see them. She woke up this morning, brushed her teeth, and combed her hair. She met Nii-san at breakfast and uttered her usual apology. He looked at her with scorn and pity.

She didn't go to school today. Her grandfather told her to stay home. It was okay. Really. Another day of training she supposed. She had long given up on hoping someone would come. She hated training and she hated her grandfather. Still, she'd live this long because of them so she can't go against them.

She wore only a simple white dress as she descended the stairs. She stopped when she could see the sickening mass of worms. She hated them too. They were painful. They felt like hot knives driving into her flesh. They burrowed deep in her, eating everything in their way; her flesh, her nerves, her bones, her emotions, her primal instincts, her dreams, her hopes, her fantasies. All they left was her consciousness. How she wished that they would eat that first. At the very least, she won't have to feel the pain until her consciousness slips away.

They had violated her so many times. She now trembles at the mere thought of them. She wished with all her heart that today she wouldn't have to deal with them.

No such luck.

She was suddenly pushed from behind. Without warning, she felt something tug at the dress she wore. Someone had grabbed the dress and the thin fabric easily ripped. She couldn't control the scream that erupted from her throat as she fell.

Thud.

With a dull thud that was cushioned by the worms, she was swallowed by the darkness. The worms were even livelier today. They tore at her deeper than ever. She screamed as she was a violated inside and out. She screamed as her body rejected the invasion. She screamed until she was hoarse. She kept screaming. She kept screaming until her mind could take no more, and unconsciousness greeted her.

Through the darkness, where all her senses were dulled, she heard voices. Even in the darkness, she could always hear her grandfather. Talking. Always talking to her in that cold, mocking, condescending tone.

Just shut up!

She would want to shout at him. But she can't. Her mouth won't obey her. Her body won't obey her. All she could do is plead for him to stop. Not that he ever does.

She had once believed that someone will come save her. That there were still people who loved her and cared for her well-being. She doesn't believe in that anymore. She accepts her position now, and understands that no one will come for her. So she should just throw away that useless wish…

But she can't. She knows that it's useless. She knows that it'll never come true. She knows that it'll be crushed and leave her in despair. But she can't let it go. It's the only thing keeping her sane. It's only the wish that someone cares that keeps her going.

"------keep --------------- from harming her."

In the far vestiges of her mind, she hears vague words of her wish.

"I just want to keep her safe------."

She doesn't know this person. This person was a complete stranger to her. Yet this person was granting her deepest wish. She can't feel the worms anymore. She can't feel the pain anymore. All that's left is the darkness.

Hurry.

Hurry.

Hurry.

She has to hurry and open her eyes. She wants to see the person that saved her. She needs to see the person that saved her. So that's why she has to hurry.

Hurry.

Hurry.

Hurry….

Before that person disappears from you forever.

She strains her eyes to open. She struggles. She struggles against the muscles that refuse to move. As if they'd forgotten their movements, she has to painstakingly force them to move.

Slowly, as minutes might as well have been hours, her vision starts to clear. First, light is comprehended. Then, colors are filled in. Finally, outlines, starting out blurry, become crisp and give shape to objects.

She gasps audibly. In front of her, not more than three meters away is her grandfather. He is standing there with a sickeningly cruel smile and his arm extended.

Gripping to her grandfather's hand is a figure draped in red. This was not her hero. This was not the noble and heroic soul that was supposed to come and save her.

She had long since fantasized about her rescues. Each one was slightly different, but she all saw the same. Someone so strong he was unholy stands atop the stairs gazing on something unworthy as her. He would jump down and fight against the darkness that was holding her back. Defeating the worms. Defeating her grandfather. He would pick her up and hold her safely and they would escape from this place forever.

She didn't care if her rescue was gallant or not. She didn't care if her hero was nothing like she imagined. She only wanted a hero to keep her safe; to show that someone still cared about her.

-Heroes don't make deals with villains.

Her heart freezes. He's shaking hands with her grandfather! He looks nothing like a hero!

His hand gripped so tightly that his knuckles were a ghostly white. He fell to one knee as his face grimaced. His breath came as shallow pants. His grey eyes had a pained expression as his gaze dropped from the elderly magus to the floor before they shut.

The worms that were scurrying around his black boots now tried to climb onto his legs. He made no move to brush them off. No, he can't even focus on them now. She can tell when his eyes opened in little slits like he's squinting. He can't even see.

In essence, he is no hero. He is a pitiful creature, more so than even her. Such a person cannot be her savior, she thought, and in the dark recesses of her mind…

She enjoys that he is getting hurt.

But the dark thought passes as she sees him grip tighter yet. She sees his right sleeve. It is tattered. No. Tattered marks are like cuts or holes. His sleeve looks as if the very materials are decaying. She can guess well enough. Her grandfather's touch can decay nearly everything that exists.

While she cannot see his hand so well, she can imagine it.

First skin.

Then fats.

Then flesh.

Then blood vessels.

Then nerves.

Finally bones.

Everything is systematically melted down to a sludge and then absorbed.

Despite everything, he holds on tightly. He ignores the pain he's feeling. He ignores the worms digging at him. He ignores his own limbs that are about to be melted off. He ignores everything, and focuses on what he has to do.

Stop!

She wants to shout out to him.

You don't have to do this!

Why…?

She bites her lip when the thought surfaced.

"Because you look so much more pitiable than I do," she whispers.

But he keeps holding on. He keeps his hand, or what remains of it, tight as if it was his own life on the line.

Time seemed to have crept to a complete halt. No one moved. No one even breathed for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, a thin red line encircled her grandfather's wrist. As it snapped firmly in place onto his skin, a gust of wind blew the red figure to the far wall where he impacted with a sickening crunch.

He crumpled to the ground where he lay unmoving.

"Ha-hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!"

A merciless laughter. Her grandfather's voice echoes in the dark dungeon. It resounds and propagates, threatening to crush her under the pressure.

She averts her eyes to the fallen figure. He is lying facedown on the stony floor. She can't tell if he's breathing or not. A writhing mass is slowly edging towards him.

Get up.

Get up.

Get up.

Get up!

Get up!

Get up!

He has to get up quickly, or he'll be engulfed by the worms.

"Get up," she whispers so quietly she wasn't even sure of herself.

"Get up.

"Get up.

"Get up.

"Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up! Get up! Get up! Get up! Get up! Get up! Get up!"

Her breathing grows erratic and she isn't even aware that she's shouting at him anymore. Nothing matters anymore. Nothing…except the fact… that he needs to…

"GET UP!!!"

The worms were mere millimeters from the fallen figure. They writhed and jostled to try and get a better position for their next meal. They will drain him dry. They will devour everything. One worm wriggles forward to lead in the meal. It lunges… and it is over in an instant.

A bloody fist comes down and the worm is now a dirty smear on the stone floor. The worms back up fearfully. They can taste the hostility in the air that is emanating from the figure.

She sighs in relief.

His arms slowly push his body up. His legs fold and unfold until he is standing. He doesn't stop until he is upright. In the dark gloom of the Matou's training grounds stands a figure draped in red.

Her eyes widen. This person in front of her, he is a being transcending that of a human. Of everything here that pointed to his defeat, he withstood and is still standing. He could have, no should have given up at so many points but he didn't. Nothing in this dank dungeon touched him in the least. To her, he seemed…

No, that was just what she wanted to see. His true actions are just glorified in that grotesque image that she imagines in her head. His true form she can see right in front of her. He is bent forward, his head bowed, and his eyes closed. His face is contorted in pain and he struggles to control his breathing. Blood drips freely from his now probably useless arm and his legs are quivering just to remain in that position.

Despite all that, he gives off an aura that he's still willing to fight. Despite looking so frail, he looks so strong.

And this frail person slowly walks towards her. His legs push him painfully forward as his arms useless sway slightly from the momentum. Every slight movement, voluntary or not, must cause so much pain. Yet he keeps nearing her. Slowly but constantly, he edges to where she sat.

"KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEEKEKEKEKEEKE!!!"

Her hands flew to her ears and she cowered as a natural reaction to hearing her grandfather's cackle.

As the laughing echoes, the worms seem to be rejuvenated from the sound. They swarm and move around noisily. They shift and surround the figure and herself. They are still wary though, and are hesitant to approach for fear of death. Still, that is only a matter of time. Soon, both of them will be consumed.

A warmth suddenly envelops her. In this dark and cold place, she feels the tender warmth of a person. How… nostalgic… She remembers warmth like this from so long ago… so far away.

She looks up to see the grim face of her savior. His face was full of pain, but he was always staring straight ahead; nothing could deter him. It was a face that has seen and suffered much hardship. Like a refined sword that has been beaten and battered until it has broken and was reforged. She could tell that this person has killed and been killed repeatedly, just to reach this point.

Tearing his gaze away from the cackling man, he looks gently down at her. He was at least twice her height and she could already tell that he can barely even see her. She hears a rustle, and the next moment, his face was right in front of her. The figure knelt so he would be face to face with her, and he gazed deeply into her eyes.

There was no sign of entry, but she could feel him entering her core. He wasn't putting a spell on her, but she felt spellbound. This was neither Suggestion nor Hypnosis. He just wanted to see her, pure and simple. He wants to confirm that she really was right here in front of him.

His left hand touches her chin and tilts her head up slightly so that he can get a better view. It slides to her cheek where he gently caresses her.

She resists.

She resists the urge to place her hand over his and never let go. She resists the urge to wish for the warmth in his hand to never leave. She resists wishing that he will never leave her because…

_It is fake…_

He will disappear.

He knows it. She knows it. Heaven and Earth knows it.

_He is fake…_

He cannot stay. He is not real. He cannot be real.

_Your feelings are…_

NO! She bit down hard on her tongue. She won't admit it. She'll never admit it. That one statement will never be real for her. She'll never admit that what she's feeling right now is false; because if she does… then she'll be denying the only person who cares for her.

Her eyes clench shut. She is afraid. She is terrified that if she opens her eyes, he won't be there. All that will be around her will be broken hopes. So she doesn't want to believe. Even if he is not real, even if he is a fake, right here, right now in her own little world, there is just the two of them.

"KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

A horrible screech comes from the writhing mass. The worms are ready to move in for the final meal. They no longer fear. It has been pushed to the far reaches of their minds now that they are hungry enough. Death by him or death by starvation. Even if one dies, if its brethren can eat, then all is not lost.

She clenches her eyes even tighter and await for the cold ending.

It never comes.

Instead she felt a warmth enveloping her even more completely. She looks down to see a red clothed arm curl around her tiny abdomen. He pulls her in as if to give her a one arm hug. Her head rests gently on his chest. Even through the cold black armor, she could feel his warmth; she could feel his rhythmic breathing; she could feel his heartbeat.

A sudden force of gravity acted on her without notice. His powerful legs kicked against the ground and they are both launched into the air. He lands safely on the stone steps, far away from the accursed worms.

He stands up straight and sends a glare that could induce death towards her grandfather and his worms. She shudders. She's never seen a glare that harsh. Even her grandfather would probably falter against that kind of pressure.

He picks her up and holds her with his arm resting under the back of her knees and his chest against her back. She felt a sudden rush of wind as he quickly took off. Despite knowing that she was quite safe, she couldn't help but reach up and encircle her arms around his neck.

Wind lashes around them. She doesn't even know if he's breathing anymore. His breathing is drowned out by the wind and her face is numbed by the wind so she can't even feel his heartbeat.

But she's never been this exhilarated before. It should be scary, but it's not. She feels free; almost as if she's flying. If she closes her eyes, she can just imagine it.

She closed her eyes… and she knew no more.

…

…

Loud chattering. She can't understand them. Four close walls. She feels a bit claustrophobic. The air here is fresh; though not necessarily clean, the people moving about keeps the air from stagnating. She looks around her to take in the wonder.

Four wooden walls, three of which are firmly connected to the floor and ceiling while the fourth was a large door. Mirrors adorn the walls and a small bench and rail were also there.

She frowns as she tries to remember how she ended up here. Everything that happened after escaping was a blank. She only remembers waking up in this room half-dressed. She was undressing herself, but she doesn't remember doing it. She doesn't even remember entering into this place.

Still, her confusion is offset by her joy as she felt the fabric slide across her skin. She looks into the mirror and gives a small twirl to see how she looks. Her hair flutters slightly as the dress flared out.

White and simple, the dress makes her look like a fairy she thinks to herself. Added to that, her hair and eye color adds to her unearthliness. She stops and takes a long hard look in the mirror. For so long now, she's cursed her hair and eyes. They were so different from others; kids would tease her for it. More importantly, they were a reminder that she was a cast off – an inferior being.

A knock on the door quickly snaps her out of her trance.

"Are you done yet?" Came the deep voice.

She shyly opens the door for him to see. She looks up at him with upturned eyes full of uncertainty, awaiting for his approval.

"Simple and nice, I like it. It looks good on you," he said with a smile.

Her face flushed. She could feel it and she was sure that he could easily tell. In desperation, she quickly turned around and took several deep breaths to try and calm herself down. Her heart was already racing when he made just one compliment. She hopes that she doesn't pass out from all the blood rush.

When she turned around, he was holding some white high heeled sandals. He motioned for her to sit on one of the benches and she obediently complied. She could have put them on herself, the sandals having straps and she just learned how to do so recently, but he knelt and smoothly slid them on to her feet.

They were cute and they matched her dress. Instantly knowing that she liked them, he smiled and walked over to the cash register. She blushed even deeper if possible and focused her gaze to her feet. By the time he came back, she was still engrossed in her newly acquired sandals, periodically clicking together the toes.

"So, are you ready to go?" he asks.

She nodded and hopped off the bench. She walked closely by his side but always slightly behind him. She wants to come closer, but her face heated up at the mere thought. She doesn't know what would happen to her if she accidentally bumped into him, so she'd rather not take the risk.

He was walking and standing tall. It was almost as if the events in the basement never happened. She would occasionally look up at him at a sideway glance and would watch his face. The moment that she felt he was about to look down at her, she turned her gaze away quickly so he wouldn't notice.

Of course, that didn't keep everyone else from noticing. She knew that people were watching. She knew that they were whispering. She couldn't hear them, but she knew. How odd they must look. A strangely dressed man is walking with a strange little girl. Is he a cosplayer? Is he a lolicon? What's he wearing? Is she his daughter?

She wanted to clamp her hands over her ears and ignore them, but she knew that he would notice and be troubled. After all, most of the comments were directed at him, and he didn't seem to care. His presence seems to permeate every nook and cranny of his surroundings, she can feel it. She was quite sure that not even a gnat would be able to dart in and escape his notice.

So he probably knew about what they were saying. He probably could hear every word they were whispering with superior accuracy, but he didn't bother with them. He was probably used to it. He's probably heard jeers and dejection hounding him at every corner, so this is nothing.

She suddenly jumped back. Something cold had touched her cheek.

She saw him holding a can that he just got from a vending machine. He handed it to her, all the while holding a smirk. She took it, and looked away pouting. She felt slightly annoyed with him but… he wasn't a bad annoyance.

She quickly opened the drink and took a sip. It was sweet, very sweet. It was also sour and tangy. The carbonated fizz stung at her tongue as she took several more gulps. Normally, she wasn't allowed anywhere near sweets. They were too unhealthy. A magus' body is just as important as his mind.

She quickly finished her drink and made a mental note of learning the brand to get some later. It would be hard trying to sneak it past her grandfather, but she'd try anyways.

Wait.

Why is she thinking that she would have to go back?

A small smile formed on her face. She was free now. She didn't have to worry about her grandfather anymore. She could live a normal life like she'd always wanted. No more chains binding her. No more worms or darkness. At last, she was free. All thanks to this mystery right beside her.

"Well aren't you looking happy?" a gruff voice called out from her right.

Her head instantly darted up to see his smirk. She wonders if smirking and grimacing were the only things he's capable of. So far, she's never seen him truly smile. Sure he'd grin from time to time when he's teasing her in the short time that they've been together, but he hasn't smiled a smile that would reach his eyes.

The next few hours passed as a blur. They went all around the city. They explored Verde, the biggest shopping district in the area. There were so many stores, so many people, so many smells, so many voices. There were food stores, and there were drink stands. There were clothing stores, and furniture stores, and so many different and superfluous products that show the vanity of humans. She loved every bit of the place.

All too soon, it was time to go. She knew that there was so much more to see and explore, but she wouldn't get too greedy. She'd heard of various rumors about the Shinto area; like the largest stuffed animal shop this side of Fuyuki City or an abandoned, and supposedly haunted, park. She wanted to at least see them, but she didn't think that he would care too much for them.

Sure he would probably say yes, maybe even feign interest in such things, but she knew that it would only aggravate him further. She could see it slowly creeping into his eyes. Annoyance. His eyes would contract, narrow, and turn into slits. Each time, she saw someone not so discreetly whispering. Even if he pretends not to notice, even if he can shoulder their petty words, the constant grinding and pressure will slowly wear away at his patience.

So it would be good to end this excursion on a happy note. She was already satisfied enough. Stuffed animals and a park were hardly something to get upset over and bother someone else.

They walked away from the Shinto area and crossed the bridge. Cold. A breeze swirls around the lonesome couple. There is no one else on the bridge. There is only the two of them, walking closely at hand, but seemingly so distant. She shivers.

Was it from the chilly wind?

Or was it from their cold relationship?

She was grateful. Of that she was sure she was sincere. Deep in her heart, engraved in her soul, she will always feel indebted to this figure who showed her hope in that dark dungeon.

But she can't help that feels as if he's purposefully distancing himself from her. Other than their few words of exchange… no, so far, only he'd spoken. Ever since they escaped from the worms, she hadn't spoken once. So maybe it wasn't his fault. Maybe it was hers because she never tried.

"-"

She opens her mouth but quickly shuts it. She doesn't even know what to say to him. Ask him about himself? Too personal. Ask him the meaning of life? Too deep. Ask him about the weather? Too shallow. Too many thoughts and questions flowed in her mind. She quickly shook her head to clear them away.

Before she realized it, they had already crossed the bridge and were standing on the other side. A gentle frown graced her face. She was always trying to keep her emotion in check. Still, a chance missed is regrettable.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asks suddenly.

She sharply looks up to see his concerned face staring down at her. When their eyes met, she felt her face heating up again and quickly turns her head aside in an attempt to hide it. She can feel his eyes piercing her from behind. Still, she keeps her position, because she knows that he will read her mind once she looks at him again.

"KYURURUUUUUU!!!!!!"

A guttural cry emanates from her. She scarcely wonders if her face had discovered a new shade of red.

"Hahahaha," she heard a soft chuckle and her breathing narrows. "How about we go and have some lunch?"

Her response was a nod and, still adamantly refusing to look at him, her feet unconsciously walked with him to the riverside park.

Warm and soft. That was the light. That was the grass and blanket. That was him. In the middle of a park overlooking the river, there is a serene scene of a young awaiting girl and a selfless man. They are translucent; they are there, but no one takes notice of them.

On the plaid textured blanket, there was a golden wicker basket. On a variety of plates and dishes are foods of every sort. While they are most definitely not the only ones in the park enjoying a simple lunch, there is something… unique about their presence. They are… in truth, the idealized image of a picnic.

They look strange, yes. A lonely violet haired girl with a strangely clad white haired man, how can they not be a strange sight to behold? And yet, they give off the air of the epitome of a peaceful couple. He is there for her, and she is there for him. A simple existence of co-dependence.

She slowly munches on a sandwich. It was turkey on rye with a bit of lettuce for substance. Normally, she doesn't eat lettuce, but she didn't feel it was right to take out the lettuce when he's already prepared the picnic. The turkey was a little dry, but the mayonnaise made up for it. None of that actually matters though, since she's more focused on something else rather than taste at the moment.

"You know, if you don't like the lettuce you could always take it out," he says casually as he watches out onto the river. His eyes never left the river to look at her, but she knows that he can sense her thoughts.

"I thought it would be rude," she says slowly, but she starts to remove the remaining pieces of lettuce anyways. At the very least, she vowed to herself that she will try to talk to him, no matter how desperate she may come off as.

"Nah," he grins. "I'm not much on proper etiquette myself. Well, I know how to not make a fool of myself at a dinner party, but I'm pretty laidback on my own."

"Really?" she questions offhandedly, still trying to pick out the last of the leaves. She didn't really believe him. He seems so… together. None of his actions were unnecessary, and everything was done methodically, even his breathing.

"Hahahahaha, yeah. Besides, lettuce doesn't really have a taste. You either like it or you don't, so eat to enjoy."

"Hmmm…." She goes back to eating her sandwich, now without the lettuce. Inside her heart, she was racing from the casual talking with him. He didn't seem that purposefully cold towards her. Inside her mind, her thoughts were all calm and collected for thinking. With only a few words, he's managed to make her think deeply.

'_You either like it or you don't, so --- to enjoy, huh?_'

He really was a mystery. He speaks so assuredly of himself, it was almost as if he's experienced the same pain. Yet his voice holds something that she doesn't have. 'If only,' she thinks. If only she has what he has, then maybe….

Eventually, their meal ends and he packs away the blanket and basket. She stares off into the river for the few minutes that he went away. Even when he's come back, they both stare into the river in silence. Not a word has been uttered since then. They both stay as still as a portrait, as if the slightest twitch would cause this perfect picture to break.

Finally, the silence was broken.

"Shall we continue?" he asks nonchalantly.

She nods slowly, and walks away with him. Their positions are resumed, and she quietly tags along behind him as they head deeper into the residential district.

They pass numerous houses without notice. As they neared the Matou residence, she picks up her pace until she's nearly overtaking him. She holds this speed until after she was sure she was safely distanced from the house. By that time, they were at the main intersection of Miyamachou.

The intersection connects to a variety of shops and also connects to the school, the northern and southern sectors, and to the bridge. It is a good gathering place and many people have come out on such a bright and sunny day. Some have taken shelter from the heat of the day inside the shops while others are still walking about, taking in the sights and sounds and commuting to where they need.

The pair takes a turn and walks into the shopping district. While the selection of goods is inferior to that in Verde, the shops here have more of a homely feeling. For that reason, there are only a few shops that specialize in equipment or furniture. Instead, food stores dominate the area.

One such shop is Koushuuensaikan, Taizan. This shop is notorious for its mouth-melting spicy Chinese food. She's heard rumors of high school students daring each other to eat there, or even sometimes as initiations for clubs and clichés. None have ever succeeded, or so the story goes.

But not every shop was so scary. They came to a stand, Edomaeya, which was popular among the students. Taiyaki is sold here at 80 yen per piece. Affordable, delicious, and in close proximity of the school, it was no wonder that students come here after a tiring day of learning.

Just as she was thinking that, he comes back with a small brown bag full of piping hot taiyaki. Its sweet smell wafts ever closer to her as he nears. Staring so intently at the bag will definitely give her away, but she can't help it. Shamefully, she has a sweet tooth. Dear Kami, she hoped that she was not blatantly drooling right in front of him.

"Here, enjoy it," he says as he holds the bag open in front of her.

She hesitates.

Noticing this, he reaches in the fishes out a piece for himself. He blows on it slightly and takes a small bite. His face was of utter serenity while he eats. Scarcely, she wonders if all heroes take ordinary actions to the extreme or if it was just her imagination.

Still, the bag was openly offered in front of her and refusing the sweet, delicious, tempting taiyaki was just disrespectful, to him and the taiyaki. So there was nothing to do but reach in and grab one; which she promptly did.

Repeating his actions, she tenderly takes a bite into the pastry. It was good; very good. Whoever made this knew what they were doing. A soft and slightly flaky, slightly crunchy dough shell covers a sweet red bean paste center. It was not so sweet that it would unbalance the taste, but it was not so bland as to give a hollow aftertaste. In all, it was as good as taiyaki was going to get.

They resumed their walking, edging closer to the temple. They fell back into the lull of silence once again. It was not as if they didn't like to speak to each other. Rather, it was that they had nothing to talk about. Topics don't easily flow to them. Neither could really talk about their past, nor could they talk about their futures. Their present they feared; one wrong move, one wrong word, could cause this dreamlike world of just the two of them to collapse.

So they walked in silence, and it suited them just fine.

They didn't need words. Small simple cues were enough to tell what the other was thinking. Whenever she was nearly finishing her taiyaki, he would smile and hold the opened bag nearer to her. Whenever his fist clenches or his eyes narrowed, she plucks up her courage and walks nearer to him to the point of almost leaning on him. In this silence, it gave them time to think and focus.

Still nibbling on her new taiyaki, her brow furrows as she concentrates on anomaly right in front of her. She was quite sure that she saw him shake hands with her grandfather, no matter how much she would like to deny that fact. She was sure that his hand was reduced to no more than a bloody mass. But his hand looks the same as normal right now.

Effects caused by Mana do not fade that quickly and the symptoms take even longer to heal. Her grandfather's decaying touch continues to take effect even after contact has been terminated; the effects spread to other areas and even to outside objects. Even spirits whose bodies are made of Mana would have a hard time purging themselves of the decay.

Stealing a concealed look towards his right hand, she sees that the sleeves are still tattered. Perhaps it was because of the dim light of the basement, but the sleeve didn't look that bad now. His hand was perfectly fine though, and that she knew was impossible.

No matter how great he may be, there was absolutely no way that he would have walked away from that basement unscathed, especially since she saw him in so much pain just a few hours earlier. Plus, he had willingly let her grandfather's Mana enter him, meaning the effects should have been much stronger.

She recognized a magical contract when she sees one. All parties involved open their Mana Circuits at the same time and allow each others' Mana to be coursed through said Mana Circuits. Written in their very cores are the terms of a contract. Like a geis, breaking the terms will invoke penalties already written in the contract. Most often, the highest infringement on a contract merits death.

By sharing Mana, the decomposition should have a much greater effect. No, his hand should have been nothing more than a puddle of organic ooze. Nothing should have been left. No flesh. No bones. Perhaps maybe some amino acids and saccharides, but most probably even those are dissolved.

Yet his hand is fine. There is nothing wrong with it that she can see. It moves fine and he doesn't seem to be in pain when it moves. Skeletal composition is perfect. Muscle tension is perfect. Everything about his hand, down to the tan, is perfect. No broken bones. No torn tissues. Not even a blemish or a bruise. A serious anomaly.

Well, even if she thinks about it, it was not as if he would just answer her outright. Perhaps he knows some superior healing arts. Perhaps he's not affected by the decay and that was from an earlier wound. Perhaps that was just her wishing that he had gotten hurt…

Her eyes widen and quickly clamp shut. How could she?! How could she think that way about the person who saved her?

In the midst of her thoughts, she forgot that she should be paying attention to where she's going. Had she noticed sooner, she would have questioned whether or not he actually had a destination in mind when he took her out of that house.

Currently, two figures are bathed in the reddish glow of the sunset. Though still quite early, the sun has already begun to set behind the temple. From their viewpoints, it was a beautiful scene. The setting sun casting black shadows over the mountains, eerie, but all the same, majestic.

He stands in silence, watching. Always watching. He doesn't attempt to make a move. His eyes are stock still, locked on something that can no longer be found in this world. Gentle breezes cause his red cloak to flutter slightly, but other than that, there is no movement in the red hero.

She sits in silence, watching without seeing. A thousand and one thoughts races through her head, but not one registers in her mind. She doesn't even attempt to concentrate. In the deep recesses of her mind, this moment is for an eternity and she is far away.

They spend the rest of the day in this way, content in their own little worlds, aware or unaware of each other. Each in a dream; neither wanting to wake up.

All dreams come to an end however. A transient event that comes once and never occurs again, that is a dream. So too must these two part.

"It seems that we will have to part here," he says solemnly in nearly a whisper.

Perhaps she already knew of this end because she stayed silent throughout the entire walk back. A day with so much fun is destined to never again occur because it was never meant to have occurred in the first place. Such a life is still beyond her grip.

But that does not mean that she can give up so easily.

"Why?" she questions without looking at him.

They are in front of the Matou house again. She knew that she was deluding herself earlier with notions of escaping the Matou forever. Was it wrong? Was it so wrong that she wished with all her being that he would take her to a better place?

No. He is the one at fault here.

"Why did you bring me back here?"

_He gave you hope. He saved you. He took you away from this accursed prison._

He doesn't look at her. He simply picks up her unresisting body and carries her to her room and places her on the bed.

"Why aren't you saving me?" she ask bitterly.

His gaze is still away from her.

"Answer me!" she screams at him.

_So why's he leaving you back here?_

"I'm not strong enough," he mutters slowly, still avoiding her.

"Don't give me that," she grits out. Her knuckles turn white from gripping on the sheets so hard. "Just who do you think you are? You save me, you give me hope, and then you break me by bringing me back."

He stays silent at her words. They were harsh, but true.

"You're just as despicable, no even more despicable than them."

She changes. Her voice changes from weak but angered to coy though bitter. Her unnatural violet eyes turn to an even more unnatural red that leers at him while her hair starts to bleach at the tip. With the corners of her mouth turned upwards, her grimace changes into an uncharacteristic smirk.

"Of course that is understandable, so I won't hold it against you. Weak humans will only say that which is convenient for them," she says coolly.

She waits for him to answer back. He doesn't.

"What?" she asks with a small frown. "You're not even going to try and justify yourself?"

He continues to look away in silence.

"Geez," she sighs. "It's no fun if you don't talk back. It almost makes me feel bad taking my anger out on you."

By now, her hair is almost fully white and dark red patterns are slowly engraving themselves onto her skin.

"Hmph, if you want to leave this girl behind, then you should do it soon. She'll forget about this soon enough. It's harder on her if you stick around any longer like that."

Spontaneously, she felt strong arms wrapping themselves around her. As the flutter of the red cloak died down, she realizes that he was hugging her.

"H-hey now! Even if you hug me out of nowhere, it's not going to change anything," she stutters while a light blush crept on her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," he whispers.

She gasps. Over and over again, he whispers that phrase into her ear.

Something wet and hot trickles down the back of her neck as his grip on her tightens.

'_Damn him,_' she thinks as she tries to find something else mean to say to him. She could insult him, call him out on his crying, or even admit that he was right to be crying. Any of those would have made him feel worse and her better… but she doesn't do any of them.

Instead, her hands encircle him and pull him closer. Periodically, she would rub his back, though she wasn't sure if he could feel it through his armor. Whispering nonsense into his ear, eventually his breathing grew steady and he straightens up.

"I'm sorry you had to see such an embarrassing display," he says while looking at her.

"No worries," she said offhandedly, though her expression wavers between confusion and joy. "I got some good blackmail material on a stranger, so it's good enough for me," she states with a contented nod.

He frowns slightly, but it is quickly replaced with a wry smile.

"Are you really going to leave her like this? Something like this might damage her far more than anything that Matou's have done."

His gaze shifted slightly, but he quickly averts it back to face her. She smiles at his determination to look at her.

"I can't take her. I simply don't have the power."

She sighs and her white hair starts receding, giving way to the violet strands.

"She doesn't totally hate you, but you're a weird savior. You save the princess, only to leave her at the hands of the devil. What kind of hero are you?"

Her eyes closes and blearily looking through them are violet irises.

"Tch, I'm the worst kind of hero… an anti-hero," he says wryly with a snort.

As her mind succumbs to the reaches of unconsciousness, she feels something warm and tender touching her cheek.

Maybe it's a dream, but she hears tender words that become etched in her heart.

_-Let us meet again, eleven years from now…_

And with that, she falls into the darkness.

**Eleven years later**

In the dark basement of the Matou household, a circle of runes written in blood starts to glow. After eleven long years, the girl with violet eyes will meet him again.

* * *

Tiger Dojo

Tiger stylized screen doors open to a dojo.

Taiga: Hi, konnichiwa minna-san.

Illya: Haaaaiii! First student present, Sensei!

Taiga: Good job! Finally, after so long, we're back in the dojo.

Illya: Yep! We're back in the dojo again!

Taiga: Ah, but you know, I hear that we can't really give advice here anymore.

Illya: That's right. There aren't any choices here that the reader can really make. This is more like a Kinetic Novel.

Taiga: Eh?! Doesn't that mean that we're pretty much basically useless here?

Illya: More or less.

Taiga: EHHHHHHHH?!?!?!?! Then why are we even here if we can't do anything?!

Illya: Quiet down, Tiger. There's a good reason why we're here.

Taiga: R-really?

Illya: Yep. This story is slated for becoming dark and confusing, so we're here to lighten things up and clarify stuff.

Taiga: OOH!!! Like comic relief!

Illya: Yep! Not only that, I hear that we'll have bigger parts in this story than in the original.

Taiga: B-BIGGER PARTS?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!

Illya: That's the plan. We'll be sub-main characters instead of minor characters - KYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Taiga: SUB-MAIN CHARACTERS!!! That's... wait, does such a category even exist?

Illya: Who cares? We'll have bigger roles. I also heard that Shirou's more indulgent in us this time.

Taiga: Bigger roles! Finally, we'll get our own CGs! Hey, maybe there'll be one with you and Shirou! Hahahahahahaha!

Illya: ...

Taiga: Eh? Hey, Illya, why the frozen stony look?

Illya: ...Are you an idiot?

Taiga: Eh?

Illya: THINK ABOUT WHERE WE ARE!!!!

Taiga: The Tiger Dojo?

Illya: No, you idiot. We're in a written format. In simpler terms, we're not getting CGs.

Taiga: W-WHAT?!

Illya: You heard me. We're not getting CGs.

Taiga: Ooooh.... This fanfiction has left me in despair!!!!

Illya: Hey, quit ripping off copyrighted stuff. I'm not happy about this either you know.

Taiga: Hmm.... But you're sure about the bigger parts?

Illya: Yep, I'm sure of it! I overheard talking about how Illya and Taiga are needed, especially in the back story.

Taiga: That sounds really important and impressive. Yosh!

Illya: ...?

Taiga: Even if we don't get CGs, we still getting bigger roles! Let's do our best, Student Number One!

Illya: OSU!!! Let's do our best now!

Taiga: But first...

Illya: First?

Taiga: MEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHACK!!!!

Illya: KYYYYAAAAA!!!! Why'd you hit my head?!

Taiga: That's for calling me a tiger.

Tiger stylized screen doors close to a dojo.

Illya: Even though I said the readers don't really have choices, they have one very important choice.

Taiga: What's that?

Illya: They can choose to review or not!

Taiga: Ooh! A critical choice indeed. Make that choice, it's up to you to help out this story. Which choice will you take? To review or not to review.

Illya: We want you! Only you can prevent writer's block!

* * *

**And I'll stop here with the lame puns. So what do you think so far?**


	2. Day 0: Fated Days

**Sorry this took a while, but I think that the next chapter may take even longer. Well, we'll see depending on my new college schedule.**

**On another note, thank you for all the kind reviews. If the writing style starts to change too weirdly, I'd appreciate some tips.**

**Onward to the story!

* * *

  
**

Chapter 2: Fated Days

**1/31**

Interlude

**One Month Ago**

Great wooden doors open as he strode in. Chattering quiets down as he made his way across to the podium. Every eye was on him, and he felt an empowering force enter him as he looks at them. For one day in each year, this is the only day that he can truly enjoy his existence.

"Let us begin," he states as he starts the communion.

"… and so that is why humans are only worthy enough to understand other humans. Such weak and pitiful creatures can never hope to understand the greater workings of an ant, let alone God or the angels."

Hours pass and eventually, he ends his sermon.

There is a moment of silence as he takes a deep breath and exhale quietly.

His eyes survey the room as he watches tear-stained faces turn and head out the doors. The Christmas mass had ended and everyone was starting to leave… all save one girl.

He'd seen her before. It wasn't an official meeting or anything. She was eating taiyaki across the street while he was enjoying his mapo tofu. When their eyes met, it was a denial that even he can praise.

Yet here she was today; on the final day of the year, she was spending her time with him.

He shouldn't be able to remember each individual face, but hers was so striking. Her matching violet eyes and hair gripped at his mind, and refused to be forgotten.

She approaches him… and he smiles.

On this one night of the year, he can truly be happy.

His joys and the joys of others can coincide… for just this one night each year.

End Interlude

"… Senpai, please wake up," a soft voice calls out.

In a dark room, a girl tenderly tries to wake a young boy whom she both admires and loves.

"….Ghhhhuhhhh," he groans.

A soft smile forms on her lips. Yes, she can proudly say that she loves him. Not to his face of course, but deep down, she knows that she loves him. No matter if he's not aware of it, no matter if he does not reciprocate her feelings, just being able to stay by his side is enough.

"G'morning Sakura," he yawns with a stretch.

So to keep on loving him and staying by his side, she will do whatever it takes.

"Good morning Senpai," she greets happily. "It's still early, but Fujimura-sensei will get mad if you sleep in."

He stretches again to pull all the cricks out of his joints. "Oh, you're right. Thanks for coming to wake me up."

"It's no problem at all," she says with an even brighter smile. "I like waking you up."

Stopping mid-stretch, he gives her a strange look. Noticing this, she looks down as the blood slightly creeps to her cheeks. It must still be early in the morning if she's still saying strange stuff.

"Ah- I'll go start breakfast now," she said hurriedly while she gets up.

"Hmm? I'll help you-," he starts, but he stops when he saw her face. He followed her eyes to his body.

"Ah… um… Senpai, I think maybe you should change first."

Last night, he must have been working late because he was still in his work clothes.

"…Ugh… looks like I'll have to change," he sighs. "I don't think Fuji-nee would like me coming into the house like this."

"Please do," she says cheerfully. "I'll take care of breakfast."

She hurries out the door but glances back at him. "You know, if you keep this place a mess, Fujimura-sensei will be mad at you."

"Hmm," he gives a good humored snort. "You're right. I'll go after I get changed. You go on ahead."

She leaves and quickly crosses the yard. It was still early and the chilled air cleared what remained of her sleepy head. 'I hope these days never end,' she thinks as she skips on the tan grass.

They crunch softly beneath her feet because they've dried out in the winter season. 'Yes,' she thinks to herself. 'Only two more months and I'll be a second year student.'

She twirls slightly into the kitchen. Looking through the refrigerator, she finds salmon and yams in particular. There was also some chicken, miso, and an assortment of vegetables left.

After taking inventory of all the available ingredients, she nods to herself with recipes forming in her mind. After securing her apron, she reaches for the chopping board and knife and prepares breakfast.

Within a few minutes, she steps back and looks at her progress. The salmon has been cooked and is being kept warm and the chicken salad has been finished. Spinach, radish, and carrots were available so she used them in the miso soup which was simmering to extract more of the flavor. Also, though she's never tried making yam soup before, she believes that her result this morning is at least passable. All in all, a very satisfying breakfast.

"I'm sorry. I'll at least get the dishes ready, so you go and sit down," a voice called from behind her.

"Huh?" she says as she jumps slightly from his presence. "Oh, you're here already, Senpai?"

"Not 'already'. We're usually eating by ten past six, so I certainly slept in," he says as he reaches for some plates.

"I don't think so. You're not in any clubs, so this is still early for you," she replies while trying to take back the dishes.

"Clubs have nothing to do with this. When you bring clubs into it, the problem is that you come here when you have morning practice to go to."

"Ah… no, I'm doing this because I want to, so please don't worry about my club," she tugs gently on the dishes to try and force him to let go.

"Yeah, you always say that. That's why I wake up early, clubs or not. It's rude for me to sleep in if you're going to be here." He takes the dishes out of her reach. "Anyways, you take a rest. We only have to set the table, so at least let me do that."

"Oh, then I'll help too. I'll load the plates and you can take them out," she says as she tries to compromise for her position in the kitchen.

"No, I'm saying I'll do it all myself," he says firmly as he starts to ladle some of the yam soup into one dish.

Her eyes narrow and a pout form on her face. "That won't do. You're head of this household, so you should just sit contentedly in the mornings."

"Sit contentedly?" he asks with his eyebrow raised in surprise. "A head of household who leaves you to do the work by yourself is a failure. It's okay, so go to the living room."

"That's right, please be a failure. This is repayment for letting me eat good food all the time. So if it's possible, I'd like for you to rest," she says in a satisfactory tone.

"Hey. We're going fifty-fifty on the groceries, so you shouldn't worry about it. I should be the one thanking you. Since you've started coming here, our meals have improved."

"Oh, I knew it. You don't get it, do you Senpai? That's not why the meals here are good." Her tone was quieter and he takes a second look at her to make sure she's alright.

"Huh? What do you mean that's not why?" he asks slowly.

"No, it's nothing. But please take responsibility because I can't eat a pleasant meal anywhere else anymore," she smiles while blushing.

"I-Idiot, don't say such weird things. What if Fuji-Nee hears that? She doesn't understand jokes." He starts to blush as well.

"You're right. It would be a big problem if Fujimura-Sensei overheard that." Her voice had a slightly victorious edge to it.

"Right. Don't say so much weird stuff."

"Yes, I won't. I won't say anything. So I can help you, right Senpai?" Her smile is natural and calm. That perhaps makes her more devious. This was her victory and it was obvious.

"…." He sighs. "Fine, do what you want. If you want to help so much, go right ahead."

"Yes, I'll do as I please." She says happily as she starts to load the plates.

"…Geez, you really don't listen to anything I tell you anymore, do you Sakura?" He sighs again as he takes a deeper look at her before laughing slightly.

"Little Sakura, going through her little rebellious age huh…" he whispers almost inaudibly.

She stops.

Her head slowly turns towards him.

He doesn't show any indication that he'd even said that.

"Senpai…?" she asks slowly.

He turns to look at her. His face furrows slightly as he looks worriedly at her.

"Is something wrong?" he asks in genuine concern.

She hesitates. "---------No," she states finally. She suppose that she could have just imagined that. "It's nothing." For a second there, he sounded so much like… _**him**_….

"Don't worry, it's nothing." She takes a breath to compose herself.

"Hmm?" his eyes question her but she just waves it off with a gentle smile.

She smiles serenely as she helps to set the table. It has been eleven years since that dreamlike day. Eleven years, more than a decade of her searching. After he disappeared, she immediately started to search for him. She poured years of effort into the sole task of finding him.

Her smile broadens. In a twisted sense, she's kind of glad that he disappeared. With his disappearance and her subsequent search, she's found someone who she loves. Yes, when she first saw Emiya Shirou, he not only rekindled the feelings inside of her, he stirred new feelings inside of her; feelings that she swore would only be for one person.

Interlude

**Four Years Ago**

Matou Zouken was conflicted. While he stands in the dark basement of the Matou house, he tries to sort out the information of the last seven years. In actuality, he supposed that he is more pleased than annoyed. His little pet project has proven to be more cooperative than he had thought. Of course, he didn't have the stronghold he'd like, but so long as their goals are intertwined, he can't ask for a better alliance. No, she daren't betray him. A mutual cooperation is the best alliance in the long run after all.

He supposed that he should be grateful to the figure that showed up to "save" the girl. Even if he was a meddlesome busybody, he nevertheless was the key that placed Sakura into this alliance.

'Oh what would you say,' Zouken wonders, 'If you realized that the one you wish to keep her away from is her closest advisor.'

Sakura Matou has come a long way since she was brought here. At first, she had only shown a weak proficiency in magic. However, since then she's been nothing short of an adept. She would definitely become an outstanding magus. Though he is disappointed at how his own grandson has utterly no skill as a magus, he can recognize talent where it's due, and he would never let such a vibrant flower such as herself wilt; even if she's not of his blood.

The willingness to teach is only half the battle. Even if he was willing to teach her all he knew and then some, if she was unwilling, then he would only be casting pearls before swine. He was in luck though. Her willingness to learn surpassed his wildest expectations.

Anything and everything he gave her, she would willingly bind to herself, usually without any assistance from him whatsoever. That in itself is worthy to be noted. While her life was never threatened, there were possible repercussions that would have made death a blessing.

Binding: the Matou's family element; "Assimilation to One's Own." While families pass on their Magic Crests to successors of the lineage, the Matou's crest is different.

Normally, a Magic Crest is inscribed onto the successor. Each progressive successor adds their own thaumaturgical knowledge and passes this crest on to the next generation; enabling the use of more complex magic and theories. In doing so, they leave behind their legacies and their proof of existence. Needless to say, the crest is the single most important treasure of a Magi lineage.

However, a Magic Crest has its own rules. First and foremost, a Magic Crest is not simply a design inscribed onto one's body. In essence, it is an extension of the body and soul. Therefore, it stands that transferring a Magic Crest is like transplantation of an internal organ; only compatible hosts are able to take on the Magic Crest. For this reason, heirs of a Magic Crest are of the same bloodline.

Secondly, a Magic Crest acts as a separate set of Magic Circuits. If a body has nerves, then Magic Circuits can be considered the nerves of a soul. However, the Magic Circuits exists inside the body. They are spiritual, but integrate physically in the body. As they are unnatural to the body to begin with, usage causes extreme pain.

If mere usage can induce such pains, the process of inscribing must be more painful still. These are spiritual nerves of your soul being integrated with the physical nerves of your body. Physical pains and spiritual pains leave no room for relief. This is why Magic Crests are inscribed throughout several years instead of all at once.

This however is a normal Magic Crest. The Matou does not believe in such weak crests. The knowledge of a lineage being carried by something so easily wiped away was looked down by the Matous.

Instead, they looked for a better way of passing on the knowledge, and after 300 or so years, Zouken perfected his ancestors' dreams. Utilizing the Matou's skill in Binding, Zouken inscribes the knowledge of the lineage not into the mind of the successors, but into their bodies.

A Magic Crest has the knowledge and skills of the preceding successors. As the generations build up the Magic Crest, the spells, or rather knowledge of the spells, stored in the crest becomes more stable and more easily accessible. One possessing the crest merely has to charge Mana through the crest, find what they need, and employ the Magecraft that is stored there. Therefore, one can consider a Magic Crest an inscription of knowledge on the mind.

However, therein lay the drawback. No matter how much knowledge is accumulated, no matter deeply one knows of a spell, without the capabilities such knowledge is useless. So the Matou frowned on the weakness of the Magic Crest.

Using his trusted Crest Worms, these worms act as parts of a Magic Crest. While a Magic Crest is intact and if damaged can easily lose generations' worth of knowledge, the worms are separate entities and even if they are destroyed, as long as even one remains, the knowledge is kept safe. Furthermore, the magic does not have to be passed on along the bloodline.

More than that, the superiority of the worms is to act as amplifiers for the magus. Although a Magic Crest also amplifies a magus' capabilities, the worms' amplification is on another level altogether. He has proven it in the previous war. His good-for-nothing son, Kariya, was the perfect proof.

His Crest Worms not only made Kariya eligible for the war, but it allowed him to summon the strongest Servant class, Berserker. Granted, he knew that his son would never win the war, regardless of his Servant or the Crest Worms. Nevertheless, he had proven that the Crest Worms were far superior to the Magic Crest.

Zouken frowned as he thinks about his son in his jointed thoughts. That fool always acted as a fool. Because of his needless meddling in his final moments, he had to waste more precious Mana on the girl. Well, it was a necessity at the time, so he can't really blame him anymore.

More than that, Kariya was so like that figure that "saved" the girl. They obviously cared enough about that girl to risk their life for her. She too seemed to care for them. While it had taken a bit of work on Kariya's end, with this new figure, Zouken decided that he would play to his strength.

After his disappearance, the girl acted like she did after the war. She retreated into her mind, barring everything from the outside world. With his limitations now, he was unable to read her as clearly, but even he can see what she was suffering from. The absence of her hero shook her core.

How to fix that was the question at first. If the answer was obvious, he would already have done it. After all, she was no use to him if she deteriorates like that. No, it would be easy if he can bring that hero back, even if only for a second.

While pondering on these thoughts, she emerged from her room three days after his disappearing act. This was the first time that she willingly walked into the basement, and his shock knew no bounds.

Her eyes were narrow and he knew that she was there for business. This was not the girl that he implanted the Crest Worm into. This girl is far more dangerous.

She stares at him in vehemence, and spoke four quiet words.

"I need your help."

If possible, his mind would have imploded. He would have thought himself to be the ultimate evil in the eyes of this girl, but here she was asking him for help.

"You're mistaken if you think I like you or anything," she said acidly as her eyes flashed red. "However, there's something I want but I can't get to it alone."

He smirks. Even with the personality change, she is too easy to see through. "But you want it enough to work with me."

Her eyes narrow and she breaks her gaze from him.

"To see him again," she says quietly, "I'd sell my soul to the devil."

From then on, it was a mass whirlwind of knowledge. Everything he had, she learned. Every binding she took without complaint, never once asking him to lessen the pain. In actuality, her mind should have already shattered under the extreme pain, but after every task, she asked patiently for the next one.

Of these arduous tortures she learned of the war from him. A fight between seven Magi and seven Servants, all for the sake of a wish granted. Perhaps she can find him in this war; their closest hypothesis was that he was a Servant from a past war. Also, even if he was not summoned, if she can win the war, she can wish to meet him again; and so her fervor to learn increased yet.

In doing so, she effectively started to destroy her emotions. She became a mere shell. Living one day just to last to the next. Others would see her as a somber child, going to school but without interacting with friends and never stepping foot outside her house. Even her personality, self, and ego started to fade.

'Fool,' he thinks sincerely. 'You throw away everything for something that doesn't even exist, for someone that is not even real.'

However, he won't complain. Her progress during the past seven years had been nothing short of miraculous. There shouldn't be any serious threat towards her at all in the next war. Even the Tohsakas and Einzberns will be wary of the product of the Matou.

Still, her progress did decline for several months recently, and that worried him. He can see the strains on her will, and can't blame her that much. Her search was for seven years straight without one lead. Seven years is short compared to his own goals, but she was still young and her goals are not as grand.

Nonetheless, her research had slowed significantly… until four days ago.

She went to school and came home as normal. She proceeded to research the spells of the Matou and fish for more leads on her savior as always. Nothing was different until nearing the end when he caught a glimpse of her eyes.

He couldn't tell what kind of feeling it was then, but after thinking about it, it struck him. In her eyes was the expression of someone attaining enlightenment.

For one reason or another, her studies picked up. She became more vibrant again, and seemed to live each day for her own. She also seemed to be away from home more and more each passing day, but she stayed up later and later each night to ensure that she continued studying at her maximum potential.

He wasn't going to say anything to her. To risk upsetting such a perfect balance and optimal situation was foolhardy. No, he'll let her go for a while longer before asking. This was the safest bet.

Interlude Out

Breakfast was quieter than normal. Or rather, it should have been breakfast, but….

"Hmm, Fuji-nee is late," Shirou says worriedly.

She nods silently as she sends a concerned look out the window. Normally, Fujimura Taiga should have been here by now, engaging in excited conversations and enjoying a nice breakfast with the other residents of the Emiya household. However, it was nearly seven and she wasn't here yet.

"I wonder if I should go out and look for her," Shirou says with his eyes narrowing.

"She's not a cat," Sakura says without looking away from the window.

"No," Shirou admits with a small smile and whispers fondly, "She's a tiger, through and through."

"WHO'S A LARGE AND FAT FREAKING TIGER?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

A roar that shakes the very foundations of the house resounds from the front door to the kitchen.

In less time than it takes to blink, a yellow and green blur barrels through the living room, vaults over the couch, dropping a bag in the process, and flips into the kitchen.

"That's really mean, Shirou!" the figure cries while waving her arms franticly.

"No one called you large, fat, or freaking," Shirou replies calmly while drinking his tea. He doesn't even bat an eye throughout her whole acrobatic act.

She was taken aback by his lack of response. Whimpering slightly, she turns to see Sakura putting the finishing touches on breakfast, now that the last resident of the house was here.

"Mmmmm…." Her lip quivers slightly as Sakura places the last dish on the table.

"WHHHAAAAAAA!!!" she cries out suddenly, nearly upsetting the table. "Sakura! Shirou's being mean to me!!!"

Sakura was still silent.

After making sure that everything on the table was perfectly in place, she sits down and pats the cushion nearest to Taiga, motioning for her to sit down with a brilliant smile.

"Would some breakfast make you feel better?" Sakura asks.

Still sniffling slightly, Taiga sits down quickly and nods. "Yes it would."

"Here's an extra big portion then," Sakura says as she scoops a large amount of rice into Taiga's bowl.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan!" Taiga exclaims happily, all traces of sadness gone from her.

"Geez," Shirou sighs out, bringing himself to the attention of the other two girls. "Either happy or sad; pick one mood and try to stay with it. It'll make dealing with you so much easier."

"Senpai!" Sakura shouts in shock.

"Uuuuuuu-," Taiga starts to whimper again. "WHY DID MY CUTE LITTLE SHIROU BECOME SO SARCASTIC?!!!"

"Fuji-nee-," Shirou starts to say, but was cut off.

"WHERE DID I GO WRONG?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

No one said anything.

"Um… Have looked at who raised me?"

"…" Taiga closes her eyes and frowned, thinking really, really hard on the question. "… Me?"

"Yes, you," Shirou says exasperatedly. "It's no wonder that I turned out like this."

"Ugh… can't argue with you there," Taiga concedes.

"More importantly Fujimura-Sensei," Sakura says in all seriousness, "Why were you so late today?"

"Hmm?" Taiga questions with a look. Instead of saying anything, she reaches for the remote and turned the T.V.

"…orning, twenty seven students and their families were found unconscious either inside or near their homes in the Shinto area. They have been taken to the hospital where they are currently in a comatose like state. Their names are as followed: Katsu-…."

The anchor recites the names of the families that were affected. Shirou gulps audibly while Sakura sharply inhaled. They recognized more than half the names on the list. Many were classmates.

"Twenty seven families," Shirou grits out.

"That's horrible," Sakura gasps. "How are they?"

"Well, it seems like they'll pull through. I went to the hospital this morning to check with the doctors. They said that the victims were all just really tired so their brain shut down to conserve power or whatever. I don't think so though. It doesn't seem like fatigue would hit that many people and their families and only in the Shinto area."

"What do you think is the cause then, Fuji-nee?" Shirou asks.

"Me? Haven't gotten a clue. They say it might have something to do with gas leaks," she replies with a shrug. Even if she acts nonchalantly, they all knew that she was quite worried about the students. Taiga was never the one to show her weakness to others.

The rest of breakfast was spent in silence. The somber mood meant that no one really had anything to say. There was really nothing they could say after hearing something like that.

Eventually, breakfast was finished and Shirou ushered Sakura out the door.

"You have club activities today, don't you?" he asks.

"Y-yes, but," she tries to protest.

"No buts," he says adamantly. "It's not as if I have anything else important to do, so I'll take care of the dishes."

Forced to concede, Sakura walks up the hill towards the school with Taiga. Taiga was chatting on aimlessly while she was lost in thought. She wasn't that disappointed at not being able to wash the dishes, far from it.

In actuality, she enjoys the daily battle with Shirou to determine who would do what. She blushes as she imagines living there with him permanently and how their bickering would play out. Nothing would get done, but the three of them still live happily despite that.

She smiles at the thought. Even if it'll only remain as a dream, for this moment in time, it is real. That's why she enjoys the small arguments with Shirou. In a sense, it was a symbol of how close she and Shirou are.

After crossing the last hill, the two entered the school.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Her heartbeat resonates in her chest.

The air here is sick…

It is very sick…

It'll die…

No…

It'll make others die…

She shakes her head to clear up her mind. Evaluating the situation, she narrows her eyes as she thinks about the consequences. Whoever did this either was very arrogant or very stupid.

A blatant display like this would cause every magus, Master or not, to come and find out what's happening. All this was good for was drawing unwanted attention. No, even those who aren't magi will sense something's up. No effort to even try and conceal what they were doing, of course normal people will figure it out.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. Whoever did this better be planning to use it during a fight between Servants. If they're planning to attack the school… no matter who it is… she won't be able to forgive them.

"Sakura-chan!" a voice called out to her, snapping her out of her reverie.

"Eh? Konnichiwa, Mitsuzuri-senpai," she says with a polite bow to the older girl.

"Are you okay?" Mitsuzuri asks. "Your face was really scary for a second."

"Erm…" she doesn't reply to that, but looks down and blush. Mitsuzuri has a tendency to bluntly say things that should be hard to say.

"Ah well, are you coming to the archery club today?" she asks enthusiastically.

"Y-yes," Sakura says, trying to keep up with Mitsuzuri.

"Good, good," she says with a short nod. She then turns around and takes off towards the archery range. "I'll see you there then," she shouts out without taking a backward glance.

"See you there," Sakura whispers, more to herself than anyone else.

She turns and takes another look at the school. Even if there was a dubious and obvious trap set, she was sure that someone else would check it out. If she was right, that person would take care of the problem in its entirety.

For now though, she had club activities to attend to.

She takes in a deep breath. The smell of polish and rosin was strong in the archery range. Everything was neat and tidy, just the way she liked it.

Twang!

There were already a few students here practicing. It was to be expected. She did stay over to have breakfast with Fujimura-sensei and her senpai, not to mention the fact that Fujimura-sensei was late today. Still, she was earlier than most of the members.

She sighs and shakes her head as she puts on the uniform. Even if everyday is different, her mornings give her a sense of semblance. Breakfast and archery are the two most pleasant events of her day, so she always takes the time to savor the feelings.

Twang!

Near center…

Her gaze is soft but intense at the same time. The arrow had stuck near the center, but not quite. It was obviously quite good, but it could have been ever so slightly better.

"Nice shot Sakura-chan," Mitsuzuri called out as she walked up to her. "You're getting better everyday."

"No," Sakura states back simply. "I'm nowhere near as good as you are, Mitsuzuri-senpai."

"Well, I have been training for a bit longer than you," Mitsuzuri replies while awkwardly rubbing the back of her head. "Either way, I still have a long way to go to catch up to that person."

Sakura was about to say something, but Mitsuzuri cuts her off before she could.

"By the way, did you manage to get him to come back?"

Sakura shakes her head sadly. They both knew the person in question, Emiya Shirou.

"Geez," Mitsuzuri sighs. "That boy's letting his talent go to waste."

She fixes Sakura with a sharp glare. "You should try harder to get him to come, even if it's just watching."

"Eh? B-but I don't want to pressure him," Sakura replies.

"It won't be pressuring if you do it well," Mitsuzuri says coyly.

"W-what do you mean 'do it w-well?'"

"Hehehe," Mitsuzuri chuckles evilly. "Here's what you do."

Mitsuzuri leans in close to Sakura and whispers in her ear.

"Go up to him and embrace him from behind. Then whisper 'I love you,' into his ear."

"EEEEHHHHH?!" She starts blushing at the mere thought. "B-b-b-but…"

She thinks for a moment.

"Wait, how's that going to get him to come?" she questions.

"It won't but at least your relationship would move on," Mitsuzuri replies in a bored tone with a shrug. "You've been with him for what? Four years now? You should already move on to the next step."

She looks away to hide her blush. Mitsuzuri knowing doesn't really bother her. Her circumstances and interactions with Shirou weren't that obvious, but by now, those around her should already know. Mitsuzuri was the kind of club president that knows about the welfare of each and every member, so of course she would know. There was only one person who she didn't want to know….

"Yeah, Sakura-chan!" a voice called out from the back of the range.

"If you keep beating around the bush, some girl might take him!" Taiga shouted as she bound towards them.

"But," Sakura starts as she looks away at them. "I don't want to lose what I have with him now…"

The two older women look at her.

"If something wrong happens, I don't want us not to be able to look at each other like this anymore." Her face was hidden by her hair as she stared downwards.

"That won't happen," Taiga reassured her.

"Yeah, it's obvious how in love you two are. You won't make a mistake," Mitsuzuri states confidently.

Sakura didn't say anything but looked out towards the targets. Her smile was soft and graceful but they didn't reach her eyes. In her eyes, there was a feeling of forlorn longing.

Interlude

After club activities were over for the morning, nearly every body left, Sakura included. Only Mitsuzuri and Taiga stayed behind to check on the equipment.

"Ne- Fujimura-sensei, didn't Sakura-chan look kind of strange today?"

Taiga was silent as she counted the bows. After she was finished, she looked at Mitsuzuri seriously.

"We have a big problem on our hands," she states with all seriousness.

"W-what is it?" Mitsuzuri asks, slightly taken aback by Taiga's unusual demeanor.

Her lips quivered as her eye starts to twitch. For a second, Mitsuzuri was sure that her teacher was going to burst out laughing.

"SHIROU'S HAPPY MARRIAGE IS ABOUT TO BE COMPROMISED!!!!" She suddenly screamed.

"Ack! Quiet down, Fujimura-sensei!" Mitsuzuri shouts back while covering her ears.

"What are you talking about anyways?! What marriage?!"

"Eh?" Taiga tilts her head as she thinks. "Hmm… Oh I know!"

Mitsuzuri looks at her warily.

"It was the one that I envisioned inside my head!" Taiga states proudly as she looks strangely victorious.

Mitsuzuri was silent.

She gave Taiga a deadpan glare. "Just what are you talking about?" she states slowly.

Taiga gives a short nod, as if confirming to herself her own thoughts. "I've seen that look in the eyes of girls before, and it means only one thing."

She glares out of the corner of her eye at Mitsuzuri.

"A partially filled heart."

"Huh?"

"Sakura-chan certainly loves Shirou. That's an undeniable fact," she states.

"True enough."

"But, a certain part of her heart is not filled with thoughts of Shirou."

"I don't get it."

"She's thinking about something or someone else. That's the side of her heart that she can't let go," Taiga says as she starts biting her thumb.

"So that's the reason that she can't tell Emiya-kun?"

Taiga just nods. "Damn it! If things are like this, it's obvious that they're not going to progress!"

"Er- sensei?"

Taiga starts whimpering… and then starts crying outright. "I DON'T WANT SHIROU TO BE TAKEN AWAY BY SOME WEIRD GIRL!!!!" she laments.

Interlude Out

The rest of the school day ends slowly. Sakura looks back at the school as she heads out. Most of the students have already filtered out and only a few were left to whatever club activities they were to attend.

It seems that today nothing had happened. The trap has not been sprung yet, and already preparations were taken for dismantling it.

Her eyes narrowed as she thinks back as to where the major setting points were. One was on the roof, one nearby the cafeteria, two at the track and field, a total of five scattered within the school itself, and possibly dozens more of which she was unaware.

Massaging her temples to alleviate the growing headache at how many points there were to this trap, she felt ever so slightly at ease with the thought of the point on the roof being erased.

Her assumption was correct. That person had sensed the ill-fashioned blatant field, and destroyed one of the holding points. Without those points, the effects of the trap would be lessened, though the school was by no means safe just yet. Still, tomorrow perhaps, she will have to drop some hints as to where the other points are.

Her smile returned as she walks down the street. For now though, she'll put those thoughts out of her head. She had more important matters to think about. At the moment, what would taste good to a growing boy and an excitable tiger is at the forefront of her thought process.

Once in front of the gate, she habitually rings the doorbell and proceeds to enter with her own key. Though this may seem strange to others, for Sakura, it holds a symbolic and sentimental importance. By ringing the bell first before entering, she admits to herself that she is not yet a true member of this household. If she admits to herself that she is a member, then she will be little more than her Senpai's little sister.

More than that, she doesn't know if she'll be able to look at him like that again…

So she'll distance herself for now. There may come a time in the future when she does not have to ring the doorbell to enter, when she can proudly call herself a member of the Emiya household; until then, she'll keep ringing the bell.

Not long after she entered, Taiga came home as well. Unlike her, Taiga doesn't ring the bell. She's already integrated and accepted her role in the Emiya family. Vaguely, she wonders what part Taiga plays. Certainly not the motherly role… but not quite the older sister role either…

"Ne-! Sakura-chan! What are we going to have for dinner?" Taiga calls out loudly from the living room.

She rummages through the refrigerator to find what she can use for dinner.

"We have some chicken left. Would you like that for tonight?"

"Hmm…!" Taiga hums happily as she claps her hands together.

"I'll take that as a yes," Sakura says with a smile as she ties her apron.

Six p.m. came and went.

Two girls are in the dining room, anxiously awaiting for the final member. Without him, they didn't want to start eating yet… well, one of them anyways.

"----ARRRGGGUUUHHHHHH-----------!!!"

Sakura calmly looks over to where Taiga laid sprawled out.

"When's Shirou coming home?!" she wails. "I'm hungry!"

She smiles as she watches the older woman's antics. Taiga was currently sprawled on the floor in front of the table, rolling back and forth, and occasionally beating her fist on the floor. She looks just like a little kid.

Still, Sakura is slightly worried about the food. If they leave it any longer, it's going to start to get cold.

"Ne, Sakura?" Taiga asks as she stops mid-roll. "Should we start before Shirou gets here? I don't want the food to get cold."

"Hmm," Sakura thinks. "Maybe we should…"

"Alright! I'll go get the dishes," Taiga states enthusiastically, and hurries off before Sakura could change her mind.

She giggles slightly as she hurries off into the kitchen to help out the hungry tiger.

Dinner tonight is chicken in cream. Taiga loves the way she prepares the white sauce that is the base, so she made extra care in making it. It had been simmering for quite a while, but it should still taste fine. Chicken gets harder the longer it cooks, but she's roasted it thoroughly so it should still be juicy; even though the whole process is rather tedious.

Since she'd come here four years ago, she and Shirou decided to take turns cooking. They'd always try to outdo the other and eventually picked up on each other's techniques. Not to be boastful, but she was quite sure that she's clearly beaten her senpai in Western dishes. Well, he's still better with Japanese dishes, so it all balances out.

"Mmm… itadakimasu!!!" Taiga calls out as she begins to dig into the food with relish.

Sakura restrains herself from gorging, but nonetheless enjoys her meal.

They partake in silence as they enjoy the taste. It was a creamy texture that was not too salty nor too bland. The chicken was succulent and the sauce had seeped deeply into the meat. Sakura made sure to remember this for next time. By simmering the chicken just enough, it seems that the juices are replaced by the cream. It keeps the chicken from drying out and gives it more flavors.

"Sakura-chan!" Taiga squeals. "This tastes soooooo- good!!!"

"I'm glad you enjoy it, Fujimura-sensei," Sakura claims happily.

"Geez, Sakura-chan," Taiga exclaims in a huff. "You don't have to address me like that outside the school."

"Eh?"

Taiga puts down her chopsticks and looks at her seriously. Sakura visibly gulps from the unusual look on her face. It was… strangely overwhelming.

"Sakura," Taiga states in a dead serious tone. "Do you have anything you want to tell me?"

"Huh?" Sakura was bewildered. What was Taiga talking about?

"I sometimes see the look in your eyes," Taiga states as she looks away from Sakura and into her cup of tea.

"It looks so lonely, so far away." Her gaze shifts back to the younger girl. "Almost as if you've been chasing something impossible for a long time…"

Her breath hitched. She can't say anything back. She can't even tear her gaze away from the older girl who knows what she feels.

"Do I really look like that?" she asks with a smile.

Taiga gives her a critical glance. Her smile almost falters, but she bites her lip subtly to not give herself away. She finally understands the saying, "Caught in a tiger's den."

Taiga looked as if she was about to say something, but the opening of the front door interrupted her.

"Tadaima," Shirou called out as he entered.

"Ah, welcome back, Senpai," Sakura called out as she hurried to greet him. "Sorry for starting dinner without you."

"No, it's okay. You really shouldn't wait up for me," he says with a grin while rubbing the back of his head.

His gaze shift over to Taiga who was chewing in silence.

"Did I do something to make her mad?" he whispers to Sakura.

She ardently shakes her head.

"Yes you did," Taiga calls out without looking at him.

"Eh-?!"

She looks over at him with a pout. "I WAITED SO LONG FOR DINNER!!!"

Shirou didn't say anything as he sat down, but he didn't look too sorry either.

"Geez," Taiga huffed. "As a teacher, I can't approve you staying out this late."

"If it's to help someone, as a teacher, I don't think you should complain about that," he replies as Sakura hands him a plate of rice and chicken. "Thanks Sakura."

"No!" Taiga shouted. "I still can't accept that! You shouldn't be so forward with helping people. They'll take advantage of you one day!"

"Huh… That's the same thing Issei said."

"And he's right," Taiga states with a satisfied nod. "This is why you're usually on the losing side."

"I don't think I'm on the losing side if I help someone and they're helped by it," he says with a raised eyebrow.

"…Man. I wonder if you got that from Kiritsugu-san," Taiga sighs.

"Hey now," Shirou complains. "I'm not like that. Sure I admired him, but I don't do things that I think are impossible."

"See?!" Taiga shouts as she slams her hands on the table. "I worry because you're like that." She seemed to mutter something but neither students notice.

"…Um, Fujimura-sensei. From what you said, has Senpai been like this since he was small?"

"Yup, he's always been like that. He's the type that goes to help people in trouble. But he's not meddlesome; he's just a bit precocious." Taiga laughs nostalgically.

"Fuji-nee, I'll get mad if you say too much. You too, Sakura. Don't ask such boring questions," he glared.

Taiga clicks her tongue and backs down, but…

"Fujimura-sensei, please continue." Sakura is taking the lesson very seriously.

"Then I shall," Taiga says happily as she claps her hands together. "See, Shirou is a person who can't ignore someone in trouble. It's like helping the weak and defeating the strong. In the essay he wrote as a child, he said 'My dream is to become a superhero'."

Sakura just stares at him. He doesn't say anything, so it must be true.

"Wow. Senpai was a real kid," she says in awe.

"'Was'?" Taiga chuckles with a raised eyebrow. "He still is. Back then, he would go and help girls being picked on by much older kids, and he'd do the chores around the house because Kiritsugu-san wouldn't."

Sakura was silent while she thinks. "…And even now he'd clean up the classroom when it isn't his turn, or even the archery range."

Taiga laughed some more before sighing. "Man, he was so cute and innocent back then, so why did he grow up so crooked?"

Shirou didn't say anything after that, but looked thoughtfully into his bowl. Taiga kept on chatting happily, seemingly oblivious to this. And she herself was processing the new found information on her senpai.

…

Dinner ended and after she cleaned up the dishes, it was time for her to go home. Stopping her in front of the door though was Shirou. He said that he was going to take a bath after eating dinner, so what was he doing here?

"Huh? Weren't you taking a bath, Senpai?"

"No, I'll take it later. I'll take you home first," he says as he sits down and starts putting on his shoes.

"Eh? Take me home?"

"Yeah. It's getting dangerous outside lately, so I'm going to walk you home. Your house is far away. Let me at least do this since you're coming here." He stands up, ready to go.

"……"

She stays silent and looks away from him. It wasn't that she didn't want him to come. She'd enjoy his presence, and it would have made her feel more at ease walking down these dark streets. But still… there are things that she doesn't want him to find out…

"…I'm sorry. I appreciate your concern, but you should stay here. I'm used to going home, so I should be fine by myself."

"Well, that may be true, but it's getting dangerous these days. So I'll walk you home for a bit," he states carelessly.

"…But, um…," she scrambles her mind for an excuse. "If Nii-san sees you, you'll be in trouble too."

"…Oh…" At that, he froze.

Even if he and Shinji can be called "friends," Shinji didn't seem to think so. However, Shinji doesn't ignore Shirou like he does when he doesn't consider someone a friend. Their relationship, at least to Sakura, is beyond friends, not quite enemies. To her, it was just a big confusion. Shinji doesn't forgive, but he still acts somewhat cordial to Shirou, even after what had happened between them.

She smiles wryly at the memory of that event. Shirou decked Shinji in the middle to school grounds where everyone was watching. When he had finally gotten it out of her that the bruise on her cheek was caused by Shinji, he stormed to school before her and hunted down Shinji. While he could have definitely handled it better, she was… moved by his actions.

And it made her fall even more in love with him.

"Oh then--------"

A voice called out and snapped her out of her reverie.

"Shall I walk you home?"

A tiger-striped English teacher appeared.

Shirou appeared to be in deep thought.

"-----I suppose," he stated after thinking. "I'm still kind of worried about the dangers, but Fuji-nee should be able to handle herself."

"Yep!" Taiga shouted as she pumps her fist in the air. "I think that I can handle myself better than Shirou."

No one objected.

After getting her things ready, Taiga and Sakura bid their farewells to Shirou and started for the Matou house.

Their walk was rather quiet and uneventful. That was enough to set Sakura on edge. Normally, Taiga was talkative, even in the most extreme of situations. However, on this particular night, she was quiet. She was just walking with her, looking at the sights but not even attempting at making light conversations.

By the time they reached the gate of the Matou house, not one word was shared between them.

Taiga parted and Sakura headed inside.

The house had not changed for centuries now, but her view of the house had changed dramatically. She had once feared the house, even loathed it with her very being. Every light and dark corridor, every room and corner, she hated it.

Yet now, this was her laboratory. Every day, she would continue her research. Her depth of knowledge in the arcane arts is not quite nearly as proficient as she wished, but they'll suffice. No, if she deals her cards right, she'll even be able to stand up against "that person;" especially with her Servant and their plan.

"Good evening, my Master," a voice called out from the darkness.

"You didn't have to wait up for me," Sakura stated as she crossed the threshold and started to ascend the stairs.

"…You seem to be in a mixed mood."

"Hmm…" Sakura reflects on her day. "Yes, I suppose. There were some good points to today, but there were also some worries. Well, I can handle it though."

She enters her room and locks the door. As she begins to undress and put on her casual clothes, she uncharacteristically snorts wryly.

As much as it disgusts her to admit it, her plan was not formulated by her. In fact, it had been her grandfather to propose the plan. Well, it was an interesting plan that would only up the ante with the high chance of throwing the opposition off so she accepted it.

Even now it still seemed like a good idea… if only she can shake off that unsettling feeling about the whole scheme.

Those thoughts can be put aside. For now, she had more important tasks to attend. The war was drawing near; she can understand that without being officially told. Taiga was alert enough to nearly catch onto the incidents in Shinto and there was the matter of the boundary field at the school.

Coincidences? Perhaps.

However, two coincidences seem to be less of random chance, than a pattern.

As it stands, she knows of perhaps one other possible opponent, and this opponent she knows will be the most difficult to overcome, despite what her grandfather may believe.

So she will continue the training. She can't afford to lose now.

"Again in the basement?" the Servant grits out.

"Of course," Sakura replied as she opens the doorway.

Toxic mana flowed out and both of them brace against the poison that weakens them.

"Come," Sakura beckons.

Her faithful Servant merely sighs and walks with her.

"Hopefully, you won't faint this time and I won't have to catch you."

Sakura giggles as she descends the spiraling staircase.

Dark and dank. She can't really remember it being any different in the eleven plus years she's been in here and she vaguely wonders if the original Matous made it like this in mind.

Well, considering that her grandfather was probably one of the ones to design this place, dark and dank was probably an understatement.

With every step, her hair tips start to whiten. It was a natural process that occurred so many times that she was used to it. She can tell that it wasn't her who wanted to learn.

An invading force rips her mind from her body and replaces it. She can't put into words who this person represented. Hurt, pain, fear, terror, envy, joy; a million and one different facets of herself reflected in this manifestation.

"You're late," an old voice grumbles from the bottom level.

"Sorry," she states carelessly in a voice that was not her. "I was caught up with something."

She walks lazily to the lowest floor alone. Only she and the old magus were brave enough to come here. Even Servants, as powerful as they are, daren't trespass amongst the worms.

As the training began, the faithful Servant watches from high above.

Her violet hair swayed as she watches the girl below her.

* * *

Tiger Dojo

Tiger stylized screen doors open to a dojo.

Illya: Hi everyone! We're back at the second day of the Tiger Dojo.

*applause* *applause*

Illya: The second day always makes me feel a bit queasy but let's try our best still!

Taiga: OI!!!!! Why are you starting without me?!?!?!

Illya: You were late today, so I started first.

Taiga: Geez... I have to be careful or this precocious brat will take my place.

Illya: Well, all joking aside, we should start properly.

Taiga: Hai! There are already some questions that need to be answered.

WHOOSH!!!

Taiga: First though, what do you think of this chapter, Student Number One?

Illya: I think that you should stop swinging that shinai around so dangerously.

Taiga: Don't make me smack you.

Illya: Fine, fine. Personally, I think that this chapter was a bit boring. Nothing really happened and the author pretty much copy and pasted dialogue from the visual novel.

Taiga: Oi, oi... that's a bit harsh. There were several problems with doing that, like fitting in the right dialogue at the right times and such.

Illya: Quit trying to justify it! So what did you think of it?

Taiga: Oohhh!!! I like it!

Illya: ?

Taiga: There were some real character development and we can already see the seeds of change sprouting!

Illya: ...Where did you take the real Taiga?

Taiga: Most importantly...

Illya: Most importantly?

Taiga: This is the first scene where I make my appearance!!!!!!!!

Illya: ... I knew it was something like that.

Taiga: Ja.... don't you think I did pretty well?

Illya: The script made you look like a hyperactive idiot.

Taiga: Hahahahaha.... yes, yes, praise me more, praise me more!!!

Illya: ...Baka... Anyways, let's continue. One review stands out in general.

Taiga: Oh! You mean the one about Archer's summoning?

Illya: Yep. This chapter threw it for a loop.

Taiga: But... wouldn't that betray the reviewer's expectations?

Illya: *sigh* ... It couldn't be helped. Archer didn't leave anything behind for her to work with. She didn't even have a single lead on his identity for eleven years.

Taiga: Eh? So that's why she couldn't summon him?

Illya: Of course. You need a physical connection to summon a Servant. When you don't have one, you use your spiritual connections and hope that the Servant summoned is a good one, since it corresponds most to your soul.

Taiga: ACK!!!! This is too much information for me to handle at once!

Illya: ... Don't worry about it. The next chapter is planned to explain the summon.

Taiga: Poor Sakura-chan though. Eleven years and she still can't find him.

Illya: The author toyed around with the idea for a couple of weeks, saying it would be so much easier if she did summon Archer.

Taiga: Then why didn't...?

Illya: Several reasons. One, the Archer summoned probably wouldn't even remember since he is a different Archer from the Throne of Heroes.

Taiga: I thought his Counter-Guardian status lets him remember.

Illya: Not quite, but it works differently. It'll be explained later Taiga!!! Let me finish!

Taiga: ...Hai...

Illya: Anyways, two, the author as has a really sick and twisted mind, saying something like, "I don't hate the face you make whilst you struggle."

Taiga: Huh?

Illya: Pretty much saying that the plot line will thicken if Sakura doesn't summon Archer.

Taiga: Oh... yeah, sounds like a certain misfit priest.

Illya: Well, moving on...

Taiga: The review also mentioned the pairings of this story, particularly about Rin with Shirou and Archer with Sakura.

Illya: Hmhmhmhm.... another review also mentioned Archer paired with Sakura.

Taiga: ...Hey now... what's with that menacing chuckle. You know something I don't?

Illya: Of course, silly Taiga. I found out after I snuck into the storyboard room.

Taiga: Ooooh. So you know who he ends up with?!

Illya: Hehehehehehe.... ME!!!!!

Taiga: ... Huh...

Illya: Oni-chan will finally become mine!!!!! -KYAAAAAAA-------!!!!!!

Taiga: Oi... you're not serious....

Illya: Nyaaaaaa- both him and Archer!!!!

Taiga: Muu... this has gone on too far!!!!

WHACK!!!!

Illya: OWWWWWW!!! Why'd you hit me?!

Taiga: Don't worry, it didn't count since I didn't call out the place I hit.

Illya: Now my head really hurts you big meanie!!!!

Taiga: That's what bad girls get when they lie! Shirou'll marry me before you!

Illya: I only altered some of the plot line so that he'll end up with me.

Taiga: AHA!!! I knew it! You edited it because he ended up with me right?!

Illya: ...

Taiga: Right?

Illya: ...

Taiga: Illya-chan?

Illya: ... Don't know...

Taiga: Eh?

Illya: The writing was so illegible that I couldn't read it.

Taiga: ... So... you don't know who Rin and Sakura are going to end up with?

Illya: .... Hey Taiga... let's not forget who Archer is in the first place.

Taiga: ...Er.... uh....

Illya: YOU FREAKING MORON!!!! He's Shirou, remember?!?!?!?!?!

Taiga: Oh yeah...

Illya: Anyways, it's still too early to be doing any serious guesswork. We're just going to have to wait until more of the story develops so we know what's going on.

Taiga: But that's really long and boring... and I get confused easily!

Illya: ... You're preaching to the choir.

Taiga: The time line jumps around everywhere in the story! I hate those interludes!!!

Illya: ...Deal with it. They give important background information. If you piece together the individual interludes chronologically, you should be able to tell what happened when and to who. They're meant to give more spotlight to the other characters. The world doesn't revolve around you.

Taiga: ... Wow... spoken all so complicatedly.... like some complicated speaking person.

Illya: ... Well, we'll leave it here for now.

Taiga: Eh? It's already time to say bye-bye?

Illya: For this Tiger Dojo. Look forward to the next one everybody!

Taiga: Pick those bad endings!!!

Tiger stylized screen doors close to a dojo.

Illya: Ne~ Tiaga. They can't choose in this storyline.

Taiga: *sigh* Old habits are hard to get rid of.

* * *

**So there's the second chapter. You really wound me though Illya. **


	3. Day 1: Fateful Gradual Shift

**Sorry about this late update. Stuff like college keeps coming up. Consider this a little Christmas present.

* * *

**

Chapter 3: Fateful Gradual Shift

**2/1**

Interlude

**Several days ago**

Dark.

Everything is dark here.

Here, in the middle of a large basement, a girl steps back to look at her work.

For the past several hours, she had painstakingly drawn a large circle on the hard stones of the basement. It wasn't as complicated as other summoning arrays should be, especially for something as complex as a Heroic Spirit. However, as the Holy Grail takes care of the actual summoning, this was just her giving a physical form to the soul and binding it to this world with her magical energy.

"------Withdrawal within elimination, engrave four areas and surround with the summoning circle… right," she mutters as she checks.

She can recite by heart the Greater and Lesser Solomon Keys, so such simple arrays should be easy for her, but she didn't want to take the chance. For eleven years she'd been preparing for this moment; she wasn't going to let some ignominious mistake haunt her for the rest of her life.

Well, all was going smooth as possible for the moment. She'd left part of the circle unfinished so that when she entered for the final motions she wouldn't disturb the mana flow. That, and the fact that she didn't want to accidentally smudge the lines when she steps in.

Blood was the medium that she was using for the circle. Not just any blood, but her blood. By using her own blood as a medium, she would have a stronger bond with her Servant. It had taken many years to get up enough blood charged with Prana. She still had some left, preserved and ready to use whenever.

"Aren't you ready yet?" an old voice croaks from the stairs.

She turned to see the old magus, Matou Zoken, descend slowly from the stairs.

"I'm almost done," she states as she looks back to the circle.

Yes, in a matter of minutes, she will be finished. Eleven long years of hard work, and finally, she'll be able to meet him again.

She steps into the circle and closes it with the remaining blood. Even though creating the circle took so long, the hardest part was yet to come.

"Dark that lights the path. Let this pedestal become a beacon for the contract," she states as she stands in the middle. The candles that lit the room are blown out and all goes dark.

"A wall for the rising waters. Four gates to seal and four gates to bind." Her heritage's blood begins to stir with her spell. The circle glows and lights everything in an eerie red.

"Escape.

"Escape.

"Escape.

"Escape.

"Leave behind the forsaken throne," she calls in a strong voice as she slits her index finger.

A single drop of blood lands in the middle of the circle.

"…And come to me," she finishes.

Flipping the formless switch inside of her, she feels the familiar flow of Prana throughout her Magic Circuits. She can feel it entering her. The image in her mind. It scares and excites her.

Her body heats up as her face flushes. Her heart races faster and faster and she pants to breathe. Forcing her self to focus, she imagines how she must look.

Pain builds… and then mounts.

It is burning…

Her skin is on fire…

The fire creeps down into her nerves…

Her blood is changed to gasoline and ignited…

Her heart is the chamber…

It is burned and constricted…

… An illusion…

… Of her hair turning white…

… Of her eyes turning red…

… Of her skin engraved with dark red tattoos…

A wet and sticky sensation…

She sweats as her body temperature sky-rockets.

The entire process has only taken several seconds, but the pain makes it seem so much longer.

Magic Circuits are not supposed to be part of the body. To use them is like tearing your nerves apart to relay messages. It is painful, and… in a twisted sense… pleasurable…

Her veins and arteries wriggle under her skin and she can feel the tiny vibrations. Familiar sensations, like that of a centipede with fangs running through her blood stream. She's felt it so many times that now it feels almost comforting.

"-------!"

Her breath hitched as a sharp pain assaulted her heart.

The worms inside her wakes up from the Mana that she was absorbing. They consume and store the Mana, making more room for her to gather more.

Pain builds on more pain… and eventually, she becomes lost within it.

At once, she also reaches her goal.

All that Mana that has accumulated in her, she empties everything into the summoning circle. Her blood was used as the medium, allowing the Mana to be more receptive and it uses the drop of blood before as a passageway.

Her vision closes.

The fifth element, said to be unperceivable to human eyes, is right before her.

So, in fear of being broken by it, vision shuts itself down.

"Make an oath here.

"Thy art of Seven Heavens clad in the Three Great Words.

"Emerge from the ring of control…!"

Her declaration is met with a resounding explosion that rocks the basement.

For sure, she had summoned him.

For sure, she drew the strongest card, and summoned her hero.

Pain finally catches up with her and her body starts to ache all over. Weakened, she collapses onto her knees as she breathes heavily.

Her hair is matted with sweat, and her face is practically dripping.

She felt a gentle hand brush wetness from her eyes. She wasn't even aware that she was crying. Was it from the pain… or was it from relief?

Anyways, all she has to do is open her eyes and her hero will be in front of her again. She will finally see him after all this time.

So quickly, her eyes must start functioning again. There isn't a moment to spare.

Slowly… ever so slowly…

Her eyes open and her vision starts to clear.

She gazes into a gentle and fair face.

"Are you my Master?" the being in front of her asks.

Her eyes widen in absolute and abject horror. Her screams fell onto her deaf ears and her consciousness slipped away from reality.

End Interlude

"Good morning, Senpai. Have you finished preparing breakfast already?"

"Yeah, breakfast is done. All that's left is setting up the table and cooking the fish."

"Oh, I'll help then. I'll prepare the dishes."

Breakfast at the Emiya residence is always an important event. Loud but friendly, it wakes up the participants and gets them ready for the long day ahead. The two students prepare the food while their teacher is lazing at the table, waiting for the free meal.

"Oh, this is the smell of Shirou's omelet. I see, you're making breakfast this morning," Taiga states while she sips from her tiger decorated mug.

"…Well, that aside…" He turns to face her. "Sakura, can you use the dishes in the middle? That will make it look better."

"Huh...?" She rummages around the cabinets to find the dishes. "Um, this one with the bumps?"

"Yeah, that. You have to think about the plates too or you'll be too one-sided. Oh, and the radish is already grated."

As she leans forward to take a dish from the back, her sleeve pulled up, revealing some white bandages.

"Hold on, Sakura," he calls as he pauses in his preparations.

Automatically, she pulls down the sleeve to prevent him from seeing.

"Yes?" she tries to feign ignorance. "What is it, Senpai?"

"What's that mark on your wrist?" he asks as his eyes narrowed.

"Oh…" she looks away awkwardly. She didn't want to have to lie to him, so if she can get him to drop the issue…

"Shinji again, huh? What does he think he's doing, beating on his sister…!?" he cries out angrily.

"T-That's not it, Senpai…! Um, well… I fell and hurt myself. I'm a bit slow, you know?" She shakes her head to emphasize. "So I fall and get hurt a lot."

"Don't be stupid. How can you get a bruise like that from falling over? It seems Shinji isn't tired of getting beat up yet…!" He pounds his fist into his hand as his eyes flashed dangerously.

"N-No, Senpai…! This doesn't have anything to do with Nii-san. I really did this myself, so you can't get mad." She earnestly tries to get her senpai to stop.

"…All right. If you say so, I'll leave it at that," he eventually relents. "But if I see it again, I won't be able to hold back."

"…Yes. I'm sorry, Senpai," she says softly as she manages a smile.

"Why are you apologizing? It's Shinji's fault." He says with a shrug as he sets the plates.

"……"

She doesn't reply and look away awkwardly.

"…Senpai, did you… um, work things out with Nii-san?"

She thinks back to when her senpai attacked her older brother because of the bruise on her cheek. Their friendship had never been quite the same since.

"Huh? Yeah, I did. We didn't have a fight or anything, so it's not like there was anything to work out."

"…Uh, it might be like that for you, but Nii-san thinks you guys got in a fight. So… well, please be careful."

"Hm?" he looks at her questioningly. "Be careful… you mean, of Shinji?"

She pauses for a moment before answering, "…Yes. I think Nii-san thinks of you as an enemy… um, and he thinks that you quit the club because of him…"

"That's not true. Me quitting the club had nothing to do with Shinji. Well, maybe a bit, but it's still not something you should worry about. Like Shinji says, this is certainly indecent," he states as he points to his right shoulder.

That's right, she thinks back. About a year and half ago, he had been working when a shipment collapsed on him. It broke his shoulder, but that healed well enough. However, the shipment had some hazardous materials so it left a scar there.

Since the archery club emphasizes formality, even to the students, the men expose their right shoulders when they shoot. Shinji had mentioned that it might be indecent for him to expose his scarred right shoulder and he himself gave the reason that work was getting busy, so he quit right then.

She can't really be sure, but… she feels that Shinji almost felt bad thinking that he was responsible making him quit.

"Um, Senpai? I might be persistent, but are you really not shooting anymore? Fujimura-Sensei said your injury shouldn't be a problem."

"What are you saying!?" he asks in mock horror. "Fuji-Nee wouldn't think it's a problem even if I broke every bone in my body."

"And I wouldn't!" she shouts from the table. "You heal well enough quickly."

"Senpai, I'm being serious." She glares and pouts at him.

"…Hmm," he thinks as he looks away from her. It seems that he wants to give her the answer she wants but is struggling.

"I don't have time to do club activities for now. I like archery, but it's not something I prioritize, so I'm taking some time off from it."

She also looks away and speaks in a whisper. "…How long is 'some time'?"

"I guess until I feel like it," he says as he looks back at her. "I'll try to come back soon. Back before you graduate. Welcome me then, Sakura," he says as he pats her shoulder.

She stares blankly at him for a while, and then….

"Oh, yes…! I'll be waiting, Senpai!" her face lights up instantly.

-

After breakfast, she and Taiga went ahead to the school for their morning practices. Since Shirou didn't have any clubs, he stayed behind again to wash the dishes.

Taiga chatted amiably and animatedly throughout the whole trek. Even after passing an area with police cars parked around, she simply picked up the pace of her speech. Perhaps, she was trying to draw her attention away from the crime scene, keep her from thinking too much about the strange incidences that were occurring around the areas.

-

Twang!

A bit off from the center… not nearly as close as yesterday…

"Ah! Sakura-chan!"

She turned around to see Mitsuzuri-senpai walking towards her.

"That's no good," she bluntly states.

"I'm sorry," she replied with a bowed head.

"No, no," Mitsuzuri reaffirms by shaking her head. "Not everyone can keep improving, I'm sure there are some bad days even for you."

"…Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Sakura asks after thinking for a bit.

"Eh~ Take it as you wish," came the reply with a cocky grin. "You seemed a bit distracted today."

"Eh?"

"Did something good happen?" Her eyes seemed to suggest something…

"Well…" she hesitates, partly to entice her captain. "…A certain someone might be planning to come back here…"

"…You mean…"

She just gave a shrug with a slightly smug smile. "You can take it as you wish."

"Yosh!" Mitsuzuri shouted as she rushed out the doors. "I'm going to try and recruit him today!!!"

Sakura just shakes her head solemnly and looks back at the targets. Well, he said he'll come back, so he'll come back on his own. Hopefully, Mitsuzuri won't push him too much and make him delay more than necessary.

Her arm pulls back as one finger is pointed towards the center.

Twang!

Dead-center.

It has been so long since things have went her way.

Interlude

**Several days ago**

"I see… So I was not the intended summon."

"No, I'm afraid not," the old magus answered. "Well, the chances of success were high on nil," he wryly chuckles.

The Servant doesn't do anything but stands there, taking in the information given to her. So her master did not intend to summon her…

Glancing towards the violet haired girl, she saw a deep depression evident on her face. It seems that her heart was set on summoning a certain individual… which didn't happen to be her. Well, she herself was quite surprised. After listening to the old magus explaining the reason for the summoning, she didn't really feel like she was actually supposed to be here.

Granted, she knew that she was summoned, meaning that she must have a master. However, according to him, the Holy Grail calls forth "heroic spirits" and she was quite sure that she didn't belong in that category.

"Eleven years," Zouken tsks. "Eleven years, and nothing… Well, at least you always have the secondary plan."

"Please tell," she asks, "Just who were you trying to summon?" Feeling slightly insulted by this turn of events; she felt that she should at least know who was supposed to be superior to her.

She waits for an answer.

Her master didn't seem to be in any condition to speak. She was sitting silently on the chair, bitterly lifting her cup of tea to her mouth and lowering it but never drinking. She was blankly staring at the ground, making no acknowledgement of her Servant's existence.

The old magus sighs as he rubs the bridge of his nose. "Alright, I suppose I'll begin at the beginning.

"Eleven years ago, we chanced upon a certain individual. Who he was, what he was, we don't know. However, my granddaughter here developed an… attachment if you will, on him. He disappeared soon after and she wanted to bring him back."

At the word "attachment," the girl swiftly turned her head to face her grandfather with a dark glare.

"Wait," the Servant asks for him to pause. "Why did you believe that he could be summoned? Couldn't he still be alive?"

At this, the girl looks away and her grip on the cup tightens.

At this, the magus starts laughing.

"Kukukukukuku…. No, I'm quite sure he is dead…" He glances at her with one pale eye. "…For several reasons."

She stays silent as she waits for him to continue.

"Well, upon our meeting, he asked for a contract, of which I willingly obliged." He pauses as he looks at her reaction.

She visibly gulped. A magical contract. Binding to the soul via Magic Circuits.

"Reading his mind was simple enough once he allowed that. Tried to keep me out, but his inferior mind was easily crushed."

The girl sharply glared at the man. For a brief moment, she was quite sure that the girl's eyes had flashed red.

"Oh there were quite some interesting names. I was searching for his specifically but what came up was ever more interesting.

"Sakura.

"Matou.

"Tohsaka.

"Einzbern.

"Emiya.

"Holy Grail.

"War.

"Saber."

Zouken grins as he recites the names from memory.

"Aside from my granddaughter's name, he had the three founders and the Holy Grail war, a participant of the last war, and one of the primary Servant classes."

"That much couldn't be a coincidence," the girl finally spoke in a hushed voice. "That much had to be a pattern."

"But that still seem too much of a stretch. There isn't anything that relates to an actual spirit."

"Of course," Zouken stated. "However, we believed him to be a Saber class Servant. Aside from the name, he also used these rather peculiar swords. Besides, I have my own reasons to believe as to why he should be deceased right now."

She couldn't help but shiver at his statement. For him to be that sure of the person's death… she was quite willing to believe that he had some part in it.

"You mentioned some swords. Couldn't those have been used to summon him then?" She asks. Too much seems strange. The information didn't add up… but… she can't shake the feeling that something much more was missing… "Such a physical catalyst would have summoned him for sure!"

Both girl and man in front of her look away.

After a brief silence, the man continued. "Sadly, it was not possible. The swords disappeared three days after his appearance."

"We did find out about the swords though!" her master shouts. "They were from the church. Black Keys."

At this, she became even more confused. From what she could tell, the church abhorred heretics and this 'war' was about as heretical as you can get. Why would someone be this deeply involved with one of the founding families?

"We checked," the girl replies with her head down. "Every church record that we could get our hands on, we checked. There were no matches."

"…Hmm…" the Servant brings her hand up to her mouth as she thinks. "Then… why was I summoned?... I don't think you used some kind of catalyst to summon me."

"Probably her blood," the magus answered. "We had hoped that there was a strong enough connection between her and him so we used her blood as a connection."

He shakes his head ruefully. "Unfortunately, it seems that you have more of a connection with her."

Simply staring at the girl, who wasn't staring back, she was at a lost for words. What was she supposed to do? Apologize? For what? For being summoned accidentally? For not being the hero she had hoped for? For-

"I'm home!!!" a voice called out from outside the room.

Everyone turned towards the door, and it opened with a loud bang…

Interlude Out

School ended, and she headed home early. Food already stocked in the refrigerator could hold out for another few days, so she didn't need to go grocery shopping yet.

Besides, starting tonight, she will need to leave from her Senpai's house early, if she can even go there at all.

No, she muses. Perhaps it would be best not to go there at all these next two weeks. She did not want to draw innocents into this little game of Magi and Servants. At the very least, she hopes that she can keep her beloved senpai and sensei out of this.

Instead, after promptly cooking dinner, she hurried home. Taiga was still slightly ignoring her, but managed to say "Bye" as she left at the gate.

She hurries home quickly. Too much time has been lost going to school and doing everything else. Already, she was quite sure that others must have already surveyed the area for the best vantage points; especially since *that* person was not here at school today.

"Welcome home-," Rider starts saying, but she swiftly heads to her room and threw on some casual clothes.

"------Master?" Rider asks when she came back downstairs.

She looks at Rider and smiles. "Sorry, but we need to hurry." She tugs at Rider's hand.

They head to the doorway when they noticed Shinji lounging in the one of the chairs at the dining room table.

Sakura swallows as she pauses and peers into the room.

Shinji had his legs propped up on the table while holding a book in his hand. Rider took one glance at the book and glared at him in concealed disgust. If Shinji had noticed them at all, he didn't make the slightest twitch.

"Nii-san," Sakura calls out lightly.

He doesn't even acknowledge her presence.

"I'm going out now."

Still no movement.

"Rider and I are going to find better vantage points for the war."

A slight twitch.

Both girls froze to see what he was going to do next.

SNAP!!!!

Sakura visibly flinched at the sound. Rider was startled but hid it better.

Carelessly, the book was placed on the table as Shinji straightened out and stood up.

"Very good, Sakura," he states as he smiles.

He walks pass them without even glancing at them. This unsettles Sakura.

As he starts to ascend the stairs, he pauses and speaks without looking at them. "Do take care not to get hurt little sister."

Her gaze at his back was sharp. She feels that even he can sense it.

"Well, I'm going to bed," he says with a wave of his hand. "Good night, dear sister."

She silently watches his retreating back. Something about him unnerves her.

"You shouldn't worry yourself about him," Rider speaks harshly. Ever since their meeting, Rider seems to want nothing more than to string up the boy by his entrails.

She just smiles weakly at her Servant. "Try not to provoke him too much."

Rider places her hand close to her chin as she contemplates. "Forgive my insolence Master, but he appears little more than a coward."

Sakura frowns and looks away. "You should still be cautious nonetheless." Her calm tone betrays her emotions. "He can be very dangerous in his own way."

The violet Servant doesn't answer.

"Well, enough of this sobering mood," Sakura declares as her hand wraps around Rider's wrist. "Let's hit the town!"

"EH-?!" was all Rider managed before being dragged out the door.

Sakura smiles as she happily pulls along her Servant. They hadn't had much time to get to know each other, so this will hopefully make up for it. For some reason, she had this instinctual feeling that the other violet haired girl understood her… and that they can be great friends.

Interlude

Damn it.

Damn it.

Damn it.

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!! Damn it!! Damn it!! Damn it!! Damn it!! Damn it!!! Damn it!!! Damn it!!! Damn it!!! **Damn it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

"Why?!" he mutters.

Shuffle. Shuffle.

His carpet is making that annoying sound again as he paces.

"Why is she always, always, **ALWAYS** the one?!?!?!"

Shuffle. Shuffle.

"I'm older than her! I'm bigger than her!! I'm better than her!!!"

Shuffle. Shuffle.

Damn that carpet. How he wish he can just summon a fire ball and burn it all away. That'll teach it.

_'She can do it.'_

His eyes widen at the thought. He swivels his head to see where that voice was coming from.

His eyes narrow. It sounded suspiciously like the old man.

His eyes darken at the thought of the old magus. He always favored her, even though he was his own blood decent. That filthy slut isn't worthy of the Matou line! He was! He was the direct descendent! It should have been him! It should have been him as a Master! That seat was reserved for him!!!

No, instead, _**she**_ was given the honor. _**She**_ was the Master. And him?...

He was a proxy. A Master through proxy. A Master, but a fake…

_**She **_was still holding the reins. _**She**_ was still the Master. _**She**_ was still a magus…

That thought of acknowledgment made him want to spit blood.

"Why does she always gets what she wants?!"

His grandfather was always looking at him with disappointment. Making him a proxy Master was just another test, he was sure. He'll show his grandfather that he can carry the line of the Matou. He'll show that… that… that _female_ that he was greater…

_'Why then, are you still so weak?'_

"ARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!"

His outcry echoed emptily throughout the house.

Interlude Out

Cool air causes her hair to flutter slightly as she crosses the bridge. A strange sense of nostalgia flows through her as she thinks back to that fateful day. It was the first time that she really noticed the world. Even before then she was sure that she never truly appreciated the slightly biting wind while crossing the bridge. Now she savors the feelings and a small smile graced her lips.

This did not go unnoticed by her Servant. Rider may have gone into her spirit form and may have been wearing a blindfold, but even she was not blind by the serene aura that came from the girl on the bridge.

It was utterly amazing how the girl can switch from time to time. Apprehensiveness, joy, anger, sadness, and everything in between. In a span of less than five minutes, her Master can cycle through all of them and then some.

"-Rider!" her Master beckons.

She turns her head sharply, even though her Master can't see her.

"Yes?" Rider questions, readying to become physical if needed. "Is something wrong?"

Sakura just gives her a questioning look. "Hm? No trouble right now, I just wanted to show you the sights."

Rider relaxes, but keeps her guard up. This area was still too open. If an enemy were to strike, then it could be from nearly any direction and she wouldn't know until it was too late. At times like these when she was out in the open did Rider wish that she had some way to sense on coming attacks before they came.

Too bad she wasn't a Caster or Archer, even though she couldn't have been summoned into either class anyways. Had she been Caster, perhaps she could more easily set up her boundaries. Had she been Archer, she would have had superior vision. Well, the Archer class would have caused her more trouble than its worth because of her particular eyes.

She contemplates as to where would be her best advantage if a fight broke out while Sakura whispers to her the history of each place they visit.

"-and here is the park. There was a big fire here 10 years ago that burned everything to the ground. It burned for a day until it went out just as it began to rain. Afterwards, the town was rebuilt, but this place was left as it was.  
It was burned to ashes, so they made it into a park."

"------!"

"Hmm? Rider?"

Rider narrows her eyes as she gazes at the field. There was something… special… about this place.

Sakura smiled sadly. "…You seem to have noticed. That's right, this is where the last Holy Grail War ended. I don't know the details, but the last war ended here, and the place has been like this ever since."

"--------I see. That must be why this place is so full of so many grudges."

"You can sense them?"

"Yes. Servants are spirits. We are beings similar to grudges and formed obsessions. Therefore, we are sensitive to such 'remnants' like us."

Rider gives the place a critical glance. "This place is like a bounded field."

Sakura just shakes her head. "Not quite, this place is more like a Reality Marble than anything."

"-------?"

"Rider, what do you know about Boundary Fields?"

"They're applied to an existing area or building to protect oneself from outside enemies. Certain fields will have certain effects like trigger alarms or energy depletion."

"Yes, but it is still merely a transformation applied to what already exists." She pauses and takes a breath as her view pans over the landscape once again. "But a Reality Marble is different. A Reality Marble is an image that erodes reality.

"The imaginary world of a magus ------ A boundary field that paints over reality to let a magus' heart take form -------- That's what we call a Reality Marble.

"In short, it is a widespread magic that distorts…, no, remakes the world as the magus wishes."

Rider remains silent as she contemplates. "Such a powerful magic," she whispers."

Sakura nods her head satisfactorily as Rider understands. "Ne~ do you know where the term 'Reality Marble' comes from?"

Rider shakes her head. For her, she knows little of the bits of thaumaturgy that was granted to her when she was alive. She's heard stories of great and terrible mages from her time, but nothing that could alter the world to this extent.

"It comes from the concept of a jar of marbles. You have one white marble and a large but indeterminate amount of black marbles. Drawing just the white marble is nearly impossible, but the 'Reality Marble' changes that. It makes all the marbles white, giving you a probability of drawing the white one 100%."

"…..You surprise me, Master."

"Hmm?"

"You are quite knowledgeable about this."

"Ehhh-?!" Sakura waves her hands frantically as if to deny. "I'm not all that knowledgeable. Reality Marbles are the taboos of taboos because of their function against reality after all and there aren't really any texts or examples that I could draw from and it's not like I've ever seen one or anything and I'm just making sure that I know these things in case it might come up and I was only researching it to help find the person that saved me even if the chances of him using one is low but it was a chance and -------ouch!!!"

Her rambling was cut short as she suddenly gripped her wrist.

"Master?! What's wrong?" Rider quickly prepared to materialized in order to protect her master.

"Don't materialize!" Sakura hissed. Her pupils narrowed as she concentrated on the Mana flowing through Command Seals. Close. Very close. The enemy is very close if it's hurting this bad. How could she not have sensed it?!

"Can you sense the enemy?" she asked through gritted teeth.

Rider swivels her head and tries to get a bearing on where the enemy might be. Nothing. "I'm sorry Master, but I do not sense an enemy Servant."

Her breathing starts to slow down as the pain starts to fade. "Then that means that the enemy's Servant is probably also in spirit form. Good thing you didn't materialize, or else we would have been like a beacon."

"…. Perhaps we should move from this place? Surely our opponents must have felt that as well."

Sakura nodded quickly. "Yes. We shouldn't start a fight right now, especially since not all seven Masters and Servants are present yet."

While officially the war hasn't started, they could fight at any time. Masters and Servants who survey the area before the war has a higher chance of finding the best vantage points, but at the same time expose themselves to a risk of being found. In such a situation, fighting is usually inevitable, especially if there is a high chance of catching the opposition unguarded and in unfamiliar territory.

Still, there were rules to be followed. Even if the Masters and Servants can engage before the war, they cannot reveal themselves to the public. This goes to all magi in general, but even more so during the war because the Servants hold such destructive powers.

"Let's head towards the busier places," Sakura states softly while walking off. She knows that Rider was following closely so she didn't bother to hesitate. "With more people around, they'll have a harder time finding us and harder time fighting us."

-

Night falls quickly and the streets are lit with sparkling lampposts. In the Shinto area, the shopping district is still busy. Hundreds of people that just got off from work peruse the shops or just hang out together. Everyone is bustling and getting lost in the shifting crowds is easy.

"Whew----------!"

"Are you tired, Master?"

"Not really, Rider," Sakura replies as she wipes her brow with a sleeve. She turns around on the hill and looks back at the city. Even though it is cold, the exercise made her considerably warmer.

They stand on a hill not far from the city. In fact, they can clearly see the people who are still loitering around the benches in front of the park. Her gaze shifts from the park to the base of the tallest building in Shinto. She sees a glimpse of familiar auburn hair. The person is looking almost straight up the building. His gaze is so intense that her own eyes follow.

There….

Standing atop the building is a lone figure draped in red. The edge of the cloth flutters in the wind as the person stares almost straight down the building. A red signal light behind the figure casts a red aura that matches the coat.

Blink. In the instance that her eyes closed from the chilly air, the figure was gone from the rooftop without a trace. Had she not seen that person, she would have doubted that anyone was there. Not even a trace of spirit or residue could be sensed in that direction.

"Master?" Rider calls out worriedly. Her master has spaced out for a while now.

"…It's nothing Rider." Sakura takes one last look at the building before shaking her head. "Let's go home."

-

By the time they reached Miyama City, it's a little pass nine o' clock. Unlike Shinto, Miyama City is an old residential district. No one walks around after nine, and the town grows as quiet as midnight…

… Well, almost no one.

A golden haired boy walks towards her. She's never seen him before and the strange clothes that he wears suggest that he's a foreigner. However, it is his eyes that disturb her the most. Glinting in the moonlight, his crimson gaze seems to pierce right through her.

"Sa------!" he breathes out. "What's a young girl like yourself doing on these streets at night?"

"---------" she keeps her tongue and glances at him. There is something strange about him. He doesn't seem like a Servant… but he doesn't seem human either.

"Would you like an escort?" he asks as he extends his hand.

"No thank you," she answers simply as she refuses his hand. "My house is close to here."

"I see!" he exclaims as he lets his arm drop. Instead of feeling down for being rejected, he seems quite happy. "That's good to know! Well, get home quickly."

He walks away from her nonchalantly. "These streets are getting dangerous these days. You might want to be more cautious," he calls out before turning a corner.

She stands there in silence as she watches him go. He knows more than he's letting on, she was sure of it. "Rider, was he a Servant?"

"No, I did not sense that he is a Servant. He has a human form, so he should be human…" Rider trails off. Even she doesn't believe that the guy was human.

"…I don't think he's human," Sakura states simply. "Hmm… oh well, we still need to get home."

The two head home without any disturbances. The streets were empty and a chilling atmosphere started to settle, but compared to Sakura's house, it was nothing.

Sakura enters her house and immediately sets to bed. Now that the war was drawing close, she can't afford wasting precious Prana training. She'll never know when she might need it in a pinch.

She frowns slightly at her reflection as she prepares. Since when has the hellish training become a sense of comfort for her? She shudders at the thought of actually enjoying her training. Bearing no more mind to it, she turns and settles in her bed. Had she been more aware, she would have seen the white-haired-red-eyes reflection smirking at her.

After watching her Master's rhythmic breathing for several minutes, Rider decides that she too was a bit tired and that Sakura was probably safe enough. She kneels in one corner of the room, and lets the darkness of her mind close her vision.

Interlude

**Several days ago**

"…Dammit!"

"…so, will you form a contract with me?"

"GGGGRRRRHHHHHHH!"

"…You will not last long without a Master."

"…Keh! You'd better hope you don't use those Command Seals. After you use up all three, I'm killing you then and there."

"… I'll look forward to it."

Interlude Out

* * *

Tiger Dojo

Tiger stylized screen doors open to a dojo.

Taiga: Oh how horrible! There seems to be bad news everywhere in this chapter.

Illya: Indeed!

Taiga: Rider wasn't intentionally summoned, Sakura-chan is still looking for her hero, someone is forced into a contract!

Illya: Even more than that...

Taiga: More than that?

Illya: I HAVEN'T EVEN SHOWN UP ONCE!!!!!!!

Illya: Geez! I thought we were supposed to have bigger roles?!

Taiga: Yeah, now that you mention it... I don't feel as if I've done much either.

Illya: At least you got lines! I'm not even mentioned yet!

Taiga: ... Well, they did mention 'Einzbern.'

Illya: That's my family! If my grandfather gets more screen time then me...

Taiga: W-well, let's not get into that. Let's start this dojo.

Illya: ...Alright.

Taiga: So what have you got for us today, Student Number One?

Illya: Hmm...? Well Sakura's getting serious about the war since she actually has a wish she wants.

Taiga: Oooh. So she's not going to sit backseat like in the original storyline?

Illya: Who knows? Shinji said something about being a proxy master, so Rider's probably answering to him as well.

Taiga: Hmm... considering his performance in Fate... I don't think that he should get command of a Servant if Sakura-chan wants to win.

Illya: It doesn't matter anyways, since I'm going to be the winner in the end.

Taiga: Geh?!

Illya: Oh? You didn't know? My Berserker is going to be the strongest!!!!

Taiga: B-b-but Berserker died in all three routes!

Illya: That was only Hercules. He was strong, but I have an even stronger Servant!

Taiga: EH?!

Illya: That's right! Hercules may have God's Hand, but this one has protection that surpasses that.

Taiga: ... What?...

Illya: Fufufufufufuf... Plot Armor!!!

Taiga: PLOT ARMOR?!?!

Illya: Annnnnnnnnd.... Author's Affection - Rank: SSS+!

Taiga: T-triple S plus?!

Illya: So it's obvious that I will win and take Shirou home and have him become my brother/fiancé/dog.

Taiga: Wait... dog?

Illya: I hear it's really popular in anime to treat your lovers like dogs.

Taiga: ...This... can't be...

Illya: Even better! I checked the brainstorm room and saw the plans. I must say, snazzy designs my dear author! Keep writing, I can't wait!

Taiga: W-wait! You saw the designs for what's going to happen?!

Illya: Yep! And I like them! I finally get a worthy ally that will help me win Shirou!

Taiga: Forget that! What role am I going to get?! What am I going to do?! Is it really cool?! How much will I get to eat?!

Illya: ... Like I really cared?

Taiga: Eh?

Illya: I was busy looking for stuff about me. If you want to know, maybe you should sneak out and look at the files.

Taiga: I can do that? But I don't know how to ------.

Illya: The key is under the mat. Password to the lock is 338d76tro900004. The camera has a blind spot about four feet from the end of the right hall. Go after 1 AM to not run into anyone.

Taiga: Thanks Illya!

The tiger has exited the building.

Taiga: I'm coming for you SPOILERS!!!!!

Illya: Now that the nuisance is gone...

Illya: Thanks everyone for reading this far. As my Christmas present to everyone, I'll let you in on something.

Illya: This story will have three arcs, each named after the three routes in the original Visual Novel.

Illya: This Fate arc sets up the changes in the characters and their histories so it'll make more sense in the future.

Illya: Thanks for reading the story up to now. Hope to see you again in the new year!

* * *

**And that's chapter three. For another present, please look up my youtube account of the same name (zagarathian). I've made VN versions of the first Tiger Dojo and an Omake. If you have any tips, I'll be pleased to hear them. Hope to see you in the new year as well.**


	4. Day 2: Fateful Contact

**Sorry for the, yet again, late update. I was planning to update during Spring Break, but stuff kept coming up. Hopefully, I'll have more time to write during summer.**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 4: Fateful Contact

**2/2**

Interlude

_Run._

_Run._

_Run._

_Run._

_Escape…_

… _Get out of here!!!_

_I have to escape._

_I have to get out of here!_

_There's so much blood…_

_Death is everywhere…_

_I stop to catch my breath and look at my surroundings. Corpses. A vast wasteland of corpses. Those that are 'alive' envy the dead. They too are corpses, not realizing that they are dead yet._

_Something wraps around my ankle. Thin, bony fingers close tightly around my foot. His skin is melting off and his flesh is eaten inside out. His eyes cannot see and his mouth open and close uselessly. His voice cannot come out, because he has no throat. Only bits of flesh and nerve connect his shoulder to his neck. I cannot see the rest of his body, because there is no body to be seen._

_I kick my foot and his fingers break off. He does not seem to realize that his fingers are gone. His blind gaze is focused on me, his silent pleas for help or his voiceless cries of curses – I ignore them all._

_For sure I must get out of here. I must run from this land of death._

Interlude Out

"Yes. If you don't mind having the same lunch as me, I can prepare one."

Her voice answers the energetic woman. She looks back at the pot and counts to make sure she had enough portions. Along with the usual array of food she was planning to pack, she also made some simmered lotus roots with chicken.

"Yep, fine, fine. Let's eat lunch together today then."

She carries the food to the table and everyone sits down.

"Oh yeah, Shirou, you were late this morning. Did something happen?"

"I had a dream about my past. I just woke up grouchy, that's all."

"I see, nothing unusual. I'm relieved."

Sakura smiles. These days – simple yet carefree – are her dreams. Her only two family members bantering each other… trusting each other. She wouldn't mind it much if it was Fujimura Taiga standing by Shirou Emiya one day…

She gives a wry and bitter smile. At the very least, she wouldn't be cut out of the picture entirely. She can probably still come here and help out with the chores. Even if her senpai is hard working, he can only do so much… and she can't really picture the lively teacher seriously maintaining the household.

After all, she considers herself a pseudo-family member. More so, this simple house is more homely to her than the mansion. Here, she can eat freely. Here, she can live without worry. Here, she can be…?...

"Shirou, are you not hungry? You don't happen to have no appetite this morning, right?"

"I am hungry. I'm fine, so don't try to take my food using my dream as an excuse."

She shakes her head to clear her thoughts as the voices break her out of her reverie.

"Man, I'm glad you've gotten so strong, but personally, I wish you were more delicate."

"That's my line. I wish you'd be more sweet."

"…Heh."

"?"

She doesn't understand their bantering, but that was to be expected. Their trust in each other was something completely foreign to her. Like a bridge without any holds or suspensions. She can't understand it. Nevertheless, she can feel their security for each other in their taunts. And she too, wishes to one day meet them at that bridge.

-

After Taiga leaves, they lock the house and leave.

"Senpai, I won't be able to come and help out from tonight until Monday. Is that alright?" she asks as they walk slowly towards the school.

"Hm? That's all right. It's the weekend anyways. You should be hanging out with your friends, so don't worry about it," he responds naturally.

"Huh? No, that's not it…! It's not like that. It's just a personal errand, and I'll be attending the club too! S-So you can come to the range if anything comes up! I'm not going off to play because it's the weekend, so please don't misunderstand me," she finishes quietly.

"…Huh?" he looks at her. Her head is bowed down and she avoids his gaze. He doesn't really understand but… "Okay. I'll go to the range if something comes up."

She smiles softly once he agrees. "Yes, it will make me happy if you do so."

"?!"

Suddenly, she stiffens. A familiar yet out of place smell reaches her nose. It was faint, but there. Her eyes quickly trace the source.

"Senpai, your hand" she asks worriedly.

"Hm?" he looks down at his left hand. It is bleeding. "Huh…" he pulls up his sleeve to inspect his arm.

"What's this? Maybe I cut it while fixing something last night."

Instead of a cut, a red raised line is there. A welt runs from his shoulder down to his hand, like a small snake. Strangely, despite there being no visible open wound, blood slowly runs the length of his arm.

"Well, I don't feel any pain, so it should go away quickly. Don't worry, it's nothing," he dismisses.

He truly doesn't seem to worry, but she falls silent. In her heart, she wishes that this does not signal the worst possible situation.

-

She parts ways with her senpai once they reached the gate. He heads towards the school building while she heads towards the archery range. The moment she steps past the gate, her senses freeze.

…sick…sick…sick…………. sick…… death….. death ……..sick…….sick……death……

…….dying……dying….deprivation…… isolation…. Sickness…. SiCKNeSs…. .sIcKNeSS….

She resists the urge to gag. Her eyes close and she tries to reorient her focus. Bad idea.

Like a membrane, stains coat the air around the school and the students running around the schoolyard become like empty dolls. Her hand quickly moves to her mouth as the nausea assails her again.

_'Damn whoever did this....'_

"Yo~! Sakura, you okay?" a voice calls out.

She resists her gag reflex and turn slowly to the person who called her.

"…Mitsuzuri-senpai…"

"Gah?! Sakura-chan! Are you okay? You look really, really pale right now!"

She swallows and clenches her mouth into a smile. Her temples start pounding. It wants her jaw muscles to slack. She resists and keeps the smile.

"I'll be alright," she says weakly.

"Hmm… maybe you shouldn't shoot today," Mitsuzuri contemplates as she looks at the younger girl. Sakura is breathing hard and her face is flushed. "Yeah, I think you should just head to class today."

"Eh-----?"

"No buts!" Mitsuzuri states with a firm tone. "You look tired enough. Forget about practice for one day. In fact! I think that you shouldn't be at school today!"

"N-no, I think I'll be fine going to class," she responds before Mitsuzuri can physically evict her from school grounds.

"Good," Mitsuzuri responds with a satisfied nod. She turns around and heads back to the archery range, no doubt to tell Taiga that Sakura won't be attending today.

She turns and walks to the main building. The air is still sickening, but slowly, her body is growing adapted to it. By midday, she should be back to nearly full efficiency.

In homeroom, first, and second period though…

Her pounding headache kept her from concentrating on anything. She must have slammed her head against the desk one time too many, because after second period ended, she was volunteered to go deliver a rather large and heavy stack of paper.

The stack was heavy, but if she wanted to get to third period on time, she would have to hurry. Compounded to that, the headache still wasn't going away. The ground seems to sway beneath her and she tries to keep the stack from toppling.

"I'll help, Sakura."

"Huh-----?"

She looks at the person in front of her.

"Ah, Tohsaka…Senpai-----."

"What, handouts? World history… that'll be my homeroom teacher. That Kuzuki, what's he thinking making a girl do this? Here, give me half of it," Tohsaka mutters as she takes half of the stack.

"Oh… Yes. Thank you, Senpai."

"It's fine. So, we're taking these to your classroom?"

"…No, we're taking them to Kuzuki-Sensei. He said he's recalling them because there was a misspelling."

"Geez," she clicks her tongue. "…I understand. Kuzuki's really stubborn. He's the guy who cancelled a whole test just because there was one misspelling in it."

"…Huh? You mean the school's exam?" Sakura has never heard of this before.

"Right. I think it was last year's midterm. He came in while everyone was filling in their names and said in his usual tone that the midterm has a misspelling in it. He said that the question was not correct, so the midterm was to be cancelled and retaken at a later date. We were surprised, but so were the teachers, and they still talk about it today."

She giggles slightly. "That's just like Kuzuki-Sensei. He doesn't think teachers should make any mistakes."

Tohsaka shakes her head. "He goes too far, though. You'll realize soon, too. Kuzuki is as stubborn as a rock or a mountain."

"Heehee. Tohsaka-Senpai, you must like Kuzuki-Sensei. It's rare for you to talk about someone like that."

"Really? …Well, I do think he should be more flexible, but…" Tohsaka trails off. She doesn't blush though, so maybe Kuzuki isn't really her type.

"Well, you'll get to see more of him once you reach second year. He teaches ethics too," Tohsaka says as she shrugs. She turns to look at her. "…More importantly, Sakura, is it all right if I ask you something?"

"Huh? What is it, Senpai?"

Tohsaka pauses as if to straighten out her thoughts. "It's about yesterday. Were you talking to a strange foreigner?"

"Oh… y-you were watching, Senpai?"

"Just by chance. So, what was it? Do you know him?"

"…No. Well, he was a strange person and he seemed to be lost. He asked me lots of things, but I couldn't make out what he was saying, so, um…" she naturally trails off. Lying is second nature to her, given her circumstances.

Tohsaka looks at her before nodding. "I see. Sorry, I was just a bit curious."

"No, it's all right…" she decides to end the conversation before her upperclassman decides to ask her why she was out at night. "Um, here is fine, Senpai. I only have to hand these to him now."

"Okay. See you later then." Tohsaka hands back the handouts and turns to walk to her classroom. Not five feet away, she pauses, her back still turned to Sakura.

"Sakura, how are things?"

She is caught off guard by that question. "Ah… yes, it's okay. I'm doing fine."

"…I see. Well, if Shinji does something again, tell me. He doesn't know when to stop, so it will only get worse if you don't say anything."

She frowns slightly, but as Tohsaka's back was turned, there was no way she would know. "It's fine. You don't need to worry, Senpai. Nii-san has been kind recently."

Tohsaka nods curtly and continues walking.

-

By midday, her headache is a memory of the past and she happily walks to the archery range.

"Sakura-chaaaaaaaaaaaaan!" Taiga wails as the girl enters the range.

"Konnichiwa – Fujimura-sensei, Mitsuzuri-senpai," she says cheerily as she takes off her shoes.

"Eh? Sakura, I thought I told you to go home today!"

"Sakura-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan! I thought I was going to starve to death!!!"

"Hehe…." She giggles slightly at their antics. "I have your lunch right here, Fujimura-sensei."

"Great! Let's call for a break so that I can eat!" Taiga exclaims happily.

Some of the more diligent students and some overzealous freshmen decide to forgo lunch and focus on their practice. This doesn't deter the club advisor, or even the club president, from their meal though.

"I thought that you already brought a lunch?" Taiga asks Mitsuzuri, eyeing her warily lest she takes some of her food.

"We'll share," Mitsuzuri answers with a smile. "It's more fun like that, no?"

-

Sakura lays the food on a small spread. The main course is the simmered lotus roots and chicken that she made this morning. She also made miso soup and some rice balls to be fillers if needed, despite the fact that they clashed with the lotus roots and chicken horribly.

"ITADAKIMASU!!!!" Taiga cheers as she starts to eat before anyone.

Nom Nom Nom…

The feeding tiger feasts noisily while the two eat much more modestly. Taiga takes a bit from every dish.

Mitsuzuri sighs.

"Hmm? What's wrong Mitsuzuri-senpai?"

"Oh it's nothing," she answers while pouting. "But if I had known that you'd make something like lotus roots and chicken, I would have brought something other than fried eggs."

"Boiled eggs then?" Taiga asks with her mouth still stuffed with food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Sakura chides her teacher. "And I think that's the wrong point."

"I would have brought something like meat buns or taiyaki."

"…" Sakura looks at her captain. "… Mitsuzuri-senpai… I think that's wrong too."

"Oh?" Mitsuzuri looks shocked. For the rest of lunch, they discuss the various dishes that can go well together.

-

"Thanks for the meal!" Mitsuzuri and Taiga chorus. They sigh contentedly as they sip their tea.

As they talk about mundane topics, Sakura picks up the finished dishes and packs them away.

"Ne~ Sakura-chan, you're not planning on staying right?"

"Um… well, Mitsuzuri-senpai did say to take today off, and I am feeling a bit tired so…"

"Not at all Sakura-chan!" Taiga slaps her back enthusiastically. "You really should take the day off. Go home and rest. I'll cook for Shirou tonight!"

As she exits the range and head home, she wonders if her senpai will live to see tomorrow after eating the tiger's bile.

-

Interlude

Damn swords.

Three strikes, all of them fatal. Head, heart, and throat.

Damn swords.

All three are deflected just as deftly as he threw them. He didn't expect them to actually do anything. They were just attacks that no real hero should even have to worry about. No, they were not really meant as killing blows. All he needed was for them to push him back far enough to regain his distance.

So many of them…

Instead, his opponent moves forward. Straight into a path so full of these fatal thorns, the man in red steadily advances. His eyes follow every movement, every flick of the red lance. His arms brace and parry the countless blows.

Each time the lance collides with the sword, his opponent is disarmed. The next move should kill him. But no, the next move is parried with yet another sword. That sword is thrown, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next…

So many swords….

"Tch… endless swords," he mutters as he keeps trying to disarm his opponent for good.

This shouldn't be possible. There's no 'effective' way to parry a lance with a sword. A strong parry will result in an even stronger counterattack and a weak parry will leave no opening. No… before that, the difference in distance should already make the situation impossible for the red swordsman.

The length of the lance is used to push the opponent back. There's no need for a lancer to advance in battle. All he needs to do is wait for his opponent to come to him. Once he is within range, no matter how good he may be with swords, they'll never reach him.

"Damn… did I mess this up?" He whispers to himself while keeping his eyes trained on the man in front of him. He never did like to take the back seat. 'Men take initiative.' He believes that hiding and waiting for the opponent to come is cowardly, the way that only the weak and foolish fights. For him, battles are the only truth, and he is not willing to tarnish that by cowering at a distance.

So he took the battle to close range. He throws away his advantage of using distance, and allows the enemy to come dangerously close. Under normal conditions, he could have still turned this around. However, this time… luck was against him in everything.

After one last failed attack, he quickly breaks and retreats, putting a fair distance between him and his opponent.

The red knight does not follow and merely looks at him. His stance is nothing, but he keeps himself guarded.

"…Twenty-seven. I've disarmed you that many times, yet you still have more," he mutters in irritation. He is perplexed by this turn of events. Disarmed that many times, and yet he still has weapons to spare? He doesn't doubt that his opponent was planning to closing the distance all the way by losing swords until he could get to his throat.

"Two, twenty seven, one hundred thirty six… it's so easy to lose count," the man replies with an easy smirk.

"Tch," he spits slightly at the overtly amused tone his opponent has. He sweeps around the area with the peripheral of his vision. The field is empty. He can't see the swords that he has discarded.

Just as heroes carry their legends, so do their weapons. Great and terrible powers reside in the myths of the weapons. These Noble Phantasms are the symbol of their heroic spirit. To carelessly cast aside their Noble Phantasm is akin to trashing their own existence.

To him, a weapon is a sacred trust. His mark and proof of his legend is tied directly to his weapon. That is why he is Lancer. His weapon is as precious, if not more so, than his own life. He would never throw away his weapon for such a trivial fight.

Therefore, those swords could not have been his Noble Phantasm. No matter how great those swords may be, they cannot be his ultimate trump card.

"What's wrong, Lancer? It's not like you to just stand there and watch. Where's the energy you had just now?" his opponent asks with a carefree tone.

"…You're talking crap, you cheater," his grumbles.

Technically, everything is still fair. In fact, his opponent is proving to be great simply by hiding his own identity. If those swords are not his Noble Phantasm, then they can't be linked to his identity. However… if what he said earlier was true…

He bites back his pride… just this once, "…All right then, I'll ask you. What hero are you? I've never heard of a bowman using two swords."

If he really is a bowman… then he had taken on a lance with just swords. An Archer using swords matching a Lancer using his personal lance… that thought is simply too staggering. If so, then 'Archer' has not even begun to fight or shown his true prowess.

"On the other hand, it's easy to tell who you are. It's said that only the fastest heroes are chosen as the lancer, but you surpass even that. There aren't three lancers in this world at your level. And on top of that, there's only one with such beast-like agility," he states while diverting the question.

"-----Oh. Well said, Archer," he states as he admits his opponent. His mind calms as his killing intent flares. He takes his stance, his lance aimed at the ground. "In that case, you shall face my finishing blow."

"I won't stop you. You're an enemy I will have to defeat sooner or later." His voice is free of contempt or arrogance.

Lance can't tell if he's impressed or annoyed with Archer. Instead, he settles for a feral growl as his body sinks down and Prana charges through his lance.

The air freezes. Perhaps both battlers even forget to breathe. The sheer amount of death that radiates from the lance shakes the air, the Earth, their souls. There is no escape from that lance. No matter how far or fast you can run, no matter what defense you may set up. After all, you cannot stop an attack that has already killed you.

Any moment, and the lance would be released. His opponent is just a corpse that does not know it is dead yet. Nothing should stop this technique…

"---------Oh."

And yet something did. Lancer senses the presence and breaks off his stance. Whoever it was must have sensed his killing intent and has run off. No matter. No witness, no survivor – that was the rule. He takes one last look at the strange sword-wielding Archer and takes off.

Interlude Out

-

"So what do we know as of now?" the old magus ask.

"Very little compared to the other Masters I am sure," she replies casually. "We've not run into any other Servants so we don't know who they are yet and we can't gauge our power until then.

"Hmm… have you heard of the news?"

"…" she stares blankly at him.

"I meant about the gas leaks," he specifies.

"Oh yes, how people are being taken to the hospital but they can't find the reason."

"And?"

"Obviously the work of a Servant."

"Very good," he compliments her without scorn. "You are catching on fast. What else?"

"If there are these many victims, then either the Servant is powerful and the Master is not providing sufficient mana or something big is going to happen soon."

"You've done admirably well, given the small amount of information you've attained. I expected nothing less," he gives a dry cackle.

"Well, I'll share my information then. It seems that the mana from the victims is flowing towards the temple on that mountain."

"…Temple…," she mutters as she thinks. "Oh! Ryuudouji! So that's where the opposition has set up their base?"

"Hmm…" he nods slowly. "That place was built on a fallen leyline so it's a good place to gather mana. It's got a good boundary field set up, so any Servant that tries to cross it will be weakened."

"Hold on," she stops him suddenly. "If it has a barrier, then it'll render the leyline useless. It'll cut off all mana, so that wouldn't make sense."

"The monks there probably left a portion of it open. If their idea that anyone who passes through the front gate is welcomed is true, then we can guess where the only open point of entry is located."

"But that would be suicidal. Not only would we be revealing ourselves and alerting them, there may be other traps there right behind the first barrier." She sips her tea as she contemplates. There are too many unknown variables that could occur. She shouldn't send out Rider just yet. She closes her eyes as she tries to think of her options.

"Well, if we agree that the opponent is stockpiling up from afar, then we can determine that whoever's in that temple is Caster," he states.

"It would make the most sense," she sighs. "However, what are we going to do about it? We can't assault it head on. But we certainly can't hope that someone else will take care of it."

"…" Zouken stays silent as he thinks. Her words are true. However…

RING…RING…RING…

Small bells echo throughout the vast room. Sakura looks at him with one eye. He closes his eyes and she can feel his mind extending to his worms.

"…I see…," he mutters as he opens his eyes.

"Well, what is it?"

"Earlier on, I've placed a few 'choke points' as it were. It seems that one of them has been tripped."

"And?" she asks, clearly not impressed. She knew his capabilities. At most, he would be able to tell that something was there. He wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

"Well, it seems that there is a battle going on. Perhaps this would be a good time to scout for more information."

"Hmm…" she thinks about it. If there was a battle, it will be easier to gauge her opponent. If Rider should get noticed, she can use the confusion to escape.

"Rider," she calls to the Servant on top of the stairs. "Please go and ascertain what has happened. Do not engage unless necessary."

"The site is near the church on top of the hill in Shinto. Do take care not to die," Zouken states with a dry chuckle. Rider shudders from his tone. He wasn't worried about her safety… he just didn't want her out of the picture… yet.

"At once, Master," she calls out as she prepares to leave.

"Rider." Her Master's voice pause her. "Make sure to come back safely. Please."

"Of course, Master." Rider smiles, though unknown to Sakura. At least her Master sincerely cares about her safety. "I shall be back shortly."

She reverts to her spiritual form and leaves quickly.

Sakura takes another sip of her tea.

"So, grandfather, what else do you know?"

"Hmm? What makes you think that I know anything else?"

"Is that so?" She pauses as she looks at him seriously. "Then I would like for you to teach me something."

"Whatever for? You shouldn't waste Mana on training exercises while the war is going on," he reprimands her.

"No, it is for the war. A boundary field is being set up at the school."

"A boundary field?" He asks with his eyes raised. "Never mind that, but what concern is this of yours?"

"I don't know the specifics of what the field will do, but I think that it is for gathering Mana. I don't know who made it, but I think I should take it down. Otherwise, it'll just be giving the opponent the advantage and initiative."

"Hmm…" he thinks deeply. "Odd, Caster should be the one behind the incidents in Shinto…"

"… Is it possible that she is also behind the school's bounded field as well?" Sakura asks.

"… We don't know enough about Caster to determine his or her capabilities. Still, you have a point about stopping the field."

The old magus gets up and walks slowly over to an old bookshelf. Sakura watches him and gets up and follows him.

"Here. This should give you the basics to wiping out the bounded field. Just search for the anchor points and get rid of them."

"Alright. If all goes well, I should be able to wipe some of the points tomorrow."

"Don't push yourself too much, if the opposition realizes what you're doing, they could launch an attack while you're weak after wiping out the anchors."

Zouken retreats to his own room, leaving his pupil in the basement. When she's finished, she'll go to sleep on her own. Of course, knowing her, she won't sleep until she's memorized the process to destroy those points. Well, he supposes that is one good point about her personality.

Interlude

Monsters. That's the only thing that she can call those who were fighting before her. Even in legends and myths, such power cannot be comprehended. How ironic, she wonders, that she who is a monster is calling others monsters. Still, against such opponents, she won't be able to win.

The graveyard below her is wrecked. A giant tramples the landscape as a young girl darts around him. Her attacks do nothing to him. He doesn't even feel them. He only rages around, trying to kill the annoying gnat that is buzzing around him. However, the terrain is rough and uneven. She uses that and the tombstones to her advantage. They hinder the giant just enough for her to avoid his attacks.

But that can't last forever. She cannot possibly have the stamina to evade him forever, and one hit is all that it will take to destroy her. Plus, the ground is slowly becoming leveled and her dodges become narrower each time.

A white haired girl watches the fight from afar. From the look in her eyes, she seems to be enjoying the play unfolding out in front of her. The giant must belong to her then. She seems absolutely sure of his victory.

Then that must mean that the black haired girl on the opposite side must be the Master of the blonde Servant. She seems to be capable, firing off spells at the giant to try and slow him down if only a bit. However, her attack does less than her Servant's and the giant does not even bother to notice.

'Hmm?'

She senses another presence approaching and looks to see a young boy rushing up towards the fight. Perhaps he is an ally to the black haired girl and will have his Servant back up her Servant.

A strange glint of light catches the periphery of her vision.

Stranger yet, the boy rush out towards the blond Servant. He quickly pulls her and they jump away from the fighting grounds.

At that moment, a glint of light shoots towards the giant like a falling star. The giant doesn't appear to notice or care until the last second when he turns around and defends against the light.

All at once, the graveyard is blinded by light and intense flames scorch everything. Even at this great distance, she can feel the heat. The graveyard is ablaze and what wasn't blown away is starting to melt.

And yet… the giant stands tall in the midst of all the flames.

She stares hard at him to make sure that he was not just a hallucination. He just survived an attack equivalent of an A – ranked Noble Phantasm. Even if there are Servants who have high endurance, he should be injured at least. But no, he has no injuries, not even burns that should have come from the explosion. He simply withstood the attack with no discernible defense except for his skin.

"Hmm… I have a better opinion of you Rin. Your Archer's pretty good," the white haired girl cheerful voice echoes through the air. "All right, come back, Berserker. I wanted to get the boring stuff over with first, but I've changed my mind."

The black shadow starts to waver and the giant slowly retreats through the fire.

"-------What? You're running away after all of this?" Rin calls out.

"Yup, I've changed my mind. I don't want Saber, but I'm interested in Archer now. So I'll let you live for a bit longer."

The giant disappears and the girl giggles.

"Ne- let's play again, Onii-chan."

Saying that, the girl leaves the graveyard.

Rin, the boy, and Saber are left to tend to their wounds. The boy has a rather large fragment of a tombstone lodged in his back. It wasn't fatal, but he shouldn't be up and around for weeks, or ever if it has done enough damage to his spine.

Clearly, the most dangerous opponent at the moment would have to be that giant, Berserker. He has high attack, insane defense, and his speed was nothing to laugh at either. Even if he can no longer think rationally because of Mad Enhancement, his specs can overpower nearly anything.

Swallowing slightly, she slinks off into the shadows, intent on following the mad warrior.

Making sure to conceal her presence, she moves dangerously close to the monster and his master. She can't conceal herself as well as Assassin, but at this distance and in spirit form, she can get close enough for reconnaissance.

"Hey, Berserker!" the girl cries out. "Are you sure you didn't went easy on them?!"

"[][][][]][][][][][][][][][][]]]][]" he roars back.

"Dammit!" she bites her thumb. "I know I said that I'm interested in Archer now, but I still want to take Saber."

"If I can get Saber out of the way, then Onii-chan can't fight back," she mutters. "But if Archer is stronger than Saber, then this throws everything off."

"[][][][][]" Berserker grumbles.

"If Onii-chan teams up with Rin, then I'll have to worry about both Saber and Archer at the same time. Even if Saber is pitiful, with that Archer and his stupid exploding phantasms… hmm…." She trails off as she thinks.

"[][][][][][][][][][][][]------------" Berserker begins to roar, but his master cuts him off.

"HEY! I didn't give you permission to speak!" she shouts angrily at him. "If I want you to think, I'll do it myself."

The giant grows silent again as they continue walking.

After passing the tenth street light since their silence, the girl starts skipping forward and turns around to face her Servant.

"Well, it won't matter in the end since you're going to kill all of them, right?" she asks the giant with a cheerful smile.

The giant simply nods.

"Hehehehehe…! That's all you have to do then, Hercules!"

Interlude Out

* * *

Tiger Dojo

Tiger stylized screen doors open to a dojo.

Taiga: ....

Illya: ....

Taiga: ... Illya...

Illya: ...Ha...?

Taiga: That... was...

Illya: Horrible? Terrible?

Taiga: ...Scary.

Illya: ... Agreed.

Taiga: Eh? Ne, ne, ne. There's someone here.

Illya: For the dojo?

Taiga: For the dojo.

Illya: ... You really want to do a dojo today?

Taiga: Not really.

Illya: ... There you have it. This Tiger Dojo has ended.

Tiger stylized screen doors close.

* * *

Doors open.

Illya: Muuuuuuuuu...... if we end it like that then that dojo really will be the end.

Taiga: Ugh... you're right.

Illya: Well, I suppose everyone's wondering why we're so down today.

Taiga: Could we not bring it up? I'm still shocked.

Illya: Unfortunately, it seems that the author somehow found out about us sneaking into the Drawing Board Room.

Taiga: And because of that, we were given a pay cut.

Illya: Plus! We had our benefits taken away!

Taiga: GAH!!! Don't remind me!!!!

Illya: Listen to this.

_**TO: Tiger Dojo**_

_**It has come to our concern that you have been looking in areas outside your premise. We would like to remind you that there are areas off-limits to even the casting staff. As punishment, we will take the following actions:**_

_**A salary cut from both Taiga Fujimura and Illyasviel von Einzbern.**_

_**The Tiger Dojo is placed under probation.**_

_**During probation, a third party may be enforced to ensure adherence to the system.**_

_**Tiger Dojo benefits will be suspended until the probation is lifted.  
**_

_**There will be a delicious picnic in which Taiga Fujimura and Illyasviel von Einzbern will be unable to attend.**_

_**New security systems will be installed to prevent future incidents.**_

_**Please be warned not to attempt such an intrusion again.**_

_**Thank you, and have a good day.**_

Illya: Horrible isn't it?!

Taiga: I'll say! I'm going to miss out on a picnic?!

Illya: Focus Taiga! If this keeps up, we might lose the dojo!

Taiga: EH?!

Illya: We might even lose our sub-main character status...

Illya: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't want that!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Taiga: Illya, Illya! Calm down! Quit thrashing.... huh?

Illya: What?

Taiga: There's something stuck to the back of that memo.

Illya: Um...

_**To: Illyasviel von Einzbern**_

_**Your Servant will still be Hercules. The original Servant intended for you was unanimously voted to be too powerful, aka a Mary Sue. Furthermore, too many of the same characters running around is detrimental to the development of the other characters. We hope you understand. Thank you for your cooperation.**_

Taiga: ....

Illya: ....

Taiga: ... Um... Illya-chan...?

Illya: May I have a moment alone?

Taiga: Sure.

Taiga: ...

Illya: ... WHAT THE ****************************************************************************************?!?!?!??!!?!?!?!

Taiga: I-Illya?!

Illya: ***** **** **** ** *!!!! ** ***** *** *****!!!!!!! *** ** *** ***!!!!!!! *********** ****** *** **!!!!!!!!! ***** ** ** ***!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Taiga: Huh... if we look at this chapter... you even said your Servant was Hercules.

Illya: That's what the recording was for?! I thought it was a sound bite!

Illya leaves.

Taiga: OI! Illya! What are you doing?! Come back here!

The Tiger leaves the dojo.

Doors close.**

* * *

And that's it for this update. Hope everyone likes this chapter. And see you again in the summer. Sorry about that Illya and Taiga. It had to be done.  
**


	5. Day 3: Suspicions of Fate

**"I would bow deeper to apologize, but any deeper and my head will be underground."**

* * *

Chapter 5: Suspicions of Fate

**2/3**

Interlude

_It was very beautiful._

_The moon that night was beautiful as well. Silver and vermillion, a red eye silently watches._

_And yet we took no notice._

_Our bodies move in harmonious rhythms, our breathing and heartbeats synchronized._

_We took notice of only ourselves and each other._

_Dancing together in that field of endless empty corpses…_

_That dream was beautiful._

Interlude Out

"Please do not make such sick jokes," the old Makiri head glares at Rider.

She glares back at him. "I do not joke."

Sakura sips her tea as she sits while watching. Even under this façade, she is quite nervous if her subconscious twirling of a white lock of her hair is any indication.

Hercules, the greatest of Greek heroes, is summoned as a Berserker. She can't decide if she should curse her luck or thank it.

"On one hand, Hercules is now considerably the strongest unit on the playing field. In every stat, he has a boost with the only downside being a lack of sanity. On the other hand, he now can no longer use his skills as freely."

"Master, I do not believe that this would be a hindrance to him," Rider explains. "Skills and techniques are used to shore up weaknesses. I cannot say that Berserker has any need of such excess."

"You said he took an A-ranked Noble Phantasm and still survived?" Zouken asks.

"Affirmative, though I would hesitate to say that it was a Noble Phantasm." Sakura and Zouken freeze and look at her. "The attack came from a distance and exploded upon contact. I could not sense the weapon afterwards among the energies present."

"Broken Phantasm," Zouken whispers before collapsing into a chair.

Sakura frowns. A Broken Phantasm is just as its name states. It is a literal "bomb" that destroys a Noble Phantasm in exchange for heavy damage. It is a one-time use only attack that leaves a Servant without their weapon or identity. As a hero's weapon is connected to his or her legend, most Servants would not use a Broken Phantasm at all, even in a desperation move.

"More importantly," Zouken looks towards Rider. "Did you see what weapon it was?"

Rider shakes her head. "All I saw was a shot of light that struck Berserker."

"Hmm… then it is most probably either Lancer or Archer."

"Agreed. I would only imagine those two to use such an attack. Caster seems too reluctant to join a fight just yet." Sakura puts down her cup and stands up. "Well, thinking too hard on this now won't help. I'm heading out now. Another day awaits."

Zouken nods as Rider takes to her spirit form and follows her Master.

Each step ascending the stairs turns her white hair and red eyes to the usual violet. "I'm heading to the archery range today, Rider. I don't think you'll need to follow me there as well."

"As much as I would like to disagree, I'll stay here then."

"Hehe… thanks. I want to keep my life separate from the war."

"… Is that why you're not going to that other house?" Rider asks quietly as she watches Sakura change.

"… Yes. I will do all I can to keep them safe."

Interlude

"Saber-!"

"Hey, hold on -! Shirou-?"

"Why did you come here? Are you insane, Master?"

"We'll talk later! Just come this way-!"

_Too kind…_

_...far too ... ... Last night...  
_

…_actions not selfless merely foolish…_

_Shirou… will regret suffer…_

…_needless… excess…_

_Regret… regret… regret… You will_

_definitely regret it suffer_

"Saber?"

_I must make you understand this… definitely…_

Interlude Out

Twang!

Center. One of her better shots actually. Of all her shots this morning, this was probably the best.

Twang!

The other members of the club are diligently practicing. However, as for the president and advisor…

"ARRRGGGG! I'M HUNGRY DAMMIT!"

"Please calm down Fujimura-sensei."

"Where's Shirou?"

"Didn't you just call him two minutes ago?"

"We've got bigger problems, Mitsuzuri-senpai!"

"Is there no more chalk?"

"My bow isn't bending right…"

"Now why the hell are they blinking?"

"Gah? Ne~ Fujimura-sensei we've got problems here as well," Mitsuzuri pleads with the hungry tiger.

For a moment, Taiga closes her eyes as if contemplating on how to fix everything.

"… Nah, can't do it. Too hungry," she states flatly.

Sighing, Mitsuzuri looks at her wallet. Maybe… just maybe… "Fujimura-sensei, if you'll look after the class properly, I'll go and buy you something." Maybe one of Edomaeya's taiyaki will hold her for a while. She's got enough to spare for about three.

"Hmmm…" the tiger thinks to herself. "Nothing like taiyaki or anything, okay?" she says something ridiculous with a smile. She turns around and starts to act out her role as a club advisor.

Mitsuzuri frowns. No taiyaki means she's probably going to have to spend more. She hates to waste money and dipping into the club funds is no good. Maybe Toyoetsu will have some instant noodles or something. It's a supermarket in the shopping district, so it's a bit far, but…

Sakura shakes her head and focuses back on her target. The club president will be able to handle it. Other than Mitsuzuri, only one person is able to control the tiger.

"Oh, great timing. Hey, Sakura-"

Her eyes widen and her shot flies wide of the target.

"Senpai…?" she asks slowly as she turns to face him. Quickly setting the bow on the ground, she runs to him. "Senpai! Why did you come here today? Um, could it be, um…." Her voice trails off as she glances over his shoulder.

"Yeah, I brought lunch for Fuji-nee. I'm sorry, but can you get that crazy teacher over there?"

"Oh-oh yeah… she was calling for you earlier," she says as she recalls Taiga shouting something about Shirou.

"Fuji-nee's giving absurd orders because she's hungry, right? It might be too late, but let her eat this since I made it. Oh, and I'm sorry for coming home late last night. Thanks for making me dinner."

She smiles at his appreciation. "…Yes, I'm glad you say so, but…" Her gaze focuses on the strange person not suited to this archery range. "…Um, Senpai?"

"Hm? Oh, was I too late? I made some for you as well, but was it unnecessary?"

"Oh, no, that's not true. I-I'm hungry as well! …Um, I gave half of my lunch to Sensei," she state happily. This was a happy surprise, even if he missed the point of her hesitation as usual.

"Yeah, I thought so. I made your lunch so that you can eat it right away. It shouldn't take that long to eat it. Well, I don't think anyone's going to complain if that's the case," he states as his eyes sweep the range.

"Y-You're right! I'll have some then. Um, will you be here all today?" she asks. If he stays, then maybe…!

"Yeah. Since I'm here, I'll stay here until the club is over. I skipped making dinner yesterday, so I'll cook dinner today. Come and eat with us," he states after thinking.

"Yes, it'll be my pleasure. Then I'm going to get sensei. Senpai, please don't just drop off lunch and go away, okay?" she says happily as she walks off quickly.

Lunch was somewhat quiet. Taiga was too busy eating to say anything and only small conversations were between her and Shirou.

"I'm full now. The sugar's flowing to my brain, so I'm finally up to par now." Despite that, Taiga is still munching on some sweet bean jelly as she drinks her tea.

Maybe it's because she's calmed down now, but the only sound in the range is of arrows flying.

"Um, Sensei. I'm going to the range now, so excuse me." As much as she would like to stay and talk to her senpai some more, she can't help but feel uncomfortable around the foreign girl sitting behind him.

"All righty. Oh, can you tell Mitsuzuri-san to come here? I need to talk to her," Taiga asks.

"Okay. Please stay at your leisure, Senpai. If you can, it'd help me out if you would coach me." She bows and takes one last look at the blonde girl.

She waves Mitsuzuri over as she heads over to the shooting area.

Interlude

"Yeah, I'll stay and watch if it's not going to be a bother, Fuji-Nee."

"All right. Well, I'm going to go teach, so you can relax here. Oh, you don't have to restrain yourself if you want to shoot. You're my student and you're better than most people."

"That's not true, Fuji-Nee. I'm missing the 'endurance' part of accuracy, piercing strength, and endurance."

"What? Do you mean how you have to shoot more than 200 arrows a day and how everything else is just releasing the bow? You know boring things, Shirou."

"Hey, you should know this if you do archery. At any rate, I can't shoot if my mind isn't into it. I'm not prepared at all, so I don't know if I'll even hit the target."

"…Oh. But Shirou, shooting arrows everyday isn't the only way to train. The endurance is good enough if you're training yourself. It's good to make a distinction, but it's also good to try to respect archery. It'll all be good if you just nod, so be honest once in a while. Well, whatever."

"Excuse me… Oh, why the upset face, Emiya? Oh, I bet Fujimura-Sensei scolded you, huh?"

"I guess so. She told me not to worry too much. Well, she's totally right."

"Oh, I see. I thought you quit because you didn't want to shoot anymore, but you still want to, huh? That's unexpected."

"It's unexpected? What? You thought I got bored with archery?"

"Yeah. You only missed the target once. You were freaking good ever since I joined the archery club. Your form was really beautiful and you looked like you didn't know how to miss. I thought you weren't happy about hitting the target because you're so good. You can get into the mentality without the bow, so I was annoyed that the bow might just be hindering you."

"-…"

"Did I guess right? I bet I did. Shooting is the mentality of shooting your mind, right? The arrow is not shot at the target, but shot at the mind of the shooter trying to hit the target. So you won't understand the mentality if you can't face yourself."

"The eight stages: ashibumi, dozukuri, yugamae, uchiokoshi, hikiwake, kai, hanare, and zanshin."

"That's right, Emiya. Wow, you know a lot despite looking so clueless all the time."

"What's that supposed mean? And anyways, that's something anyone who's practicing archery supposed to know."

"Well, it's like preaching to the Buddha, but hitting the target is like a bonus in archery. Archery is more like a path to obtain the mentality. It's a path and not a technique. But to put it another way, you can't reach that mentality without bow and arrow.

"We shoot arrows and feel it when we hit the target. We know hitting the target is only a technique, but we can't tell if we succeeded unless the arrow hits the mark.

"Anyone can hit the target in archery. Disregarding bothersome things like the eight stages of shooting, anyone can hit the target if they pursue 'the technique to hit the target'. But they are only making the arrow hit the target with technique. Real shooting hits no matter how bad the shooter may be."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I always came to the range to hit the target."

"See, that's what I'm talking about. It's like 'Enlightenment' or folding clothes. We can only realize that we've reached it once we're there, like tranquility or a pile of clothes in front of you. But you don't need to see the final result. You disregard the eight steps because you already know that as long as the process is correct, the result will be the same.

"Remember that time when you missed at the tournament?"

"I vaguely remember something along the lines of that."

"I asked you why, and you said 'I missed because I imagined for it to miss'. It didn't miss as a result, but you made it miss with your own will. You imagined for it to miss, so it missed."

"… Isn't that just natural? Imagining yourself hitting the target and releasing it accordingly is the first step."

"Of course, but that's only in our minds. But you're seeing it to the point that the world will alter itself to come to the same 'vision' because at that moment, you ceased to be Emiya Shirou and became a part of the 'world.' In martial arts terms, you've reached 'nothiness' or have mastered K*nk*."

"I don't really get it, but is it okay to be comparing me to a manga character?"

"It's not a character, it's a technique, and that's not important. What I'm trying to say is you focus too much on nothing and don't want enough. You need to have some fun once in a while."

"I have fun. I'm enjoying myself right now."

"Maybe, but I think that despite turning to nothingness, you still feel happiness when the arrows hit."

"…."

"Come on, Emiya. Since you're here now, how about a couple of arrows."

"…"

"What have you got to lose?"

"Well, time and energy, but I guess I can pick up the bow again… just for today though."

Interlude Out

TWANG!

Center.

TWANG!

Center again.

TWANG!

Center yet again.

Three shots in twelve seconds with a margin of three inches.

Yet this is nothing.

She glances up to see someone standing next to her. His feet are planted wide and his gaze unwavering.

A blur.

His hand moves deftly across the string. Three arrows are shot, one after another. They fly so quickly and seamlessly that they become a single line, a single point.

His hands move again and another volley is launched.

In the span of sixteen seconds, nine arrows hit the center mark with only a three centimeter margin.

Even the other students have paused to watch. They are awed and inspired by his beautiful form. He stands there, but he does not. His presence is completely gone. The only evidence that he even moved is the nine arrows embedded in the target.

He breathes, and he is back among the living again.

Whisperings break out among the students.

"Damn, did you see that?"

"This guy is seriously good."

"Who is he?"

"Ah, you wouldn't know since you only joined this year, but that's Emiya Shirou."

"EH? The guy that only missed once and the only one who can calm down Taiga?"

"Oh yeah, he did that earlier."

The boy in question turns to face her. He smiles a simple smile and she can feel her face heat up.

"Want some help?"

"S-sure." She didn't think it was possible to get any redder.

She was wrong.

Being this close, she can hear his heartbeat, she can feel his breath. His hands hold hers and gently bring the arrow up to eye level. He slides his feet between hers and deepen her stance.

This close together, she feels as if they are in an intimate dance.

"Hahaha- calm down, Sakura. You won't be able to shoot straight if your breathing is so erratic."

"Eh-?" She snaps out of her daze. Her arrow went wide again, but she smiles.

Could she have ever thought this was possible when she first joined the club?

Interlude

_Joining this club was only on a mere whim. No… that's… wrong. The deciding factor was definitely him. He went to this club, so seeing him would be easier if there was a reason to come here everyday. _

_ Why?_

_ He had nothing. He wasn't strong. He wasn't charismatic. He wasn't a magus. He was just a normal person. One you could find anywhere. _

_ Why was he so special?_

_ Maybe… maybe… because we were just lonely…_

_ He always had this look about him, as if he would break any minute. He feels… a bit like me… I guess._

_ I wasn't the one to approach him. If he never talked to me, then I wouldn't ever have to notice him. We could have lived on without being aware of the other's existence._

…_Do I hate him for that? Would my life have been better without him? _

_ But…shooting at the range every day was fun… I met new people, came out of my shell a little… learned to live a little. We talked and laughed. Isn't that what you call fun? _

_ Can't this still happen now? Can't we still have fun anymore?_

_ If we were back at the club again…_

_ …hmm…_

"…Mmmm…..," a boy rubs his eyes as he wakes up. "…A dream…?"

He looks out the window and glares at the world outside.

"Tch," he scoffs. "What am I doing having dreams about him?"

_There are more important things to be done._

"Hmph, let her do what she wants, she has already practically given up her right."

_There are plans to be made._

"I don't have time to fool around anymore."

_Machinations to be implemented._

"Let's go, Rider."

"… … … Hai…"

End Interlude

Afternoon, the club activities grind to a halt. Everyone helps out with packing away the equipment and readies their belongings. Mitsuzuri takes one last look around the range to make sure nothing is forgotten before locking the doors.

"By the way," Shirou asks, "Where's Shinji? I haven't seen him today."

"He's skipping club," Mitsuzuri states with a sigh. "He might have a new girlfriend, as he's like this recently."

She shakes her head as if to clear unwanted thoughts. "Well, I have business in the teacher's office, so we'll say bye here. See ya."

Waving goodbye, they turn and head towards the gate.

"Goodbye Sensei!"

"Don't tease Emiya too much, Tiger!"

The other members say goodbye in their own way as they walk away from the school.

"-Hmm? Why is that girl following us?" Taiga asks quietly.

It seems that she has only noticed the foreign girl just now.

"Hey, do you know her, Shirou?" Taiga continues to whisper.

"Yeah. I brought her here, so it's natural for me to know her, right?" he answers without hesitation.

"Y-yeah…," Sakura reluctantly agrees with his statement. "So what kind of relationship do you have with her…?"

"Yeah, I never heard of Shirou having a foreign friend," Taiga says as she thinks hard.

"No, she's not my friend, but an acquaintance of my father. I guess she's the daughter of a friend of my father," Shirou explains while scratching his cheek.

"Kiritsugu-san? Then this girl came to visit Kiritsugu-san?"

"Yeah. She'll be staying at my place for a while, so please give her your best regards."

Freeze.

"-Huh?"

Unsurprisingly, both Taiga and Sakura gives the same response.

Taiga was the first to break out of her stupor. "Wait-! Shirou, are you going to be living with her-?"

"No. Saber's only staying for a short while. I'm only letting her stay here, like in a hotel. It's nothing to be surprised about, right?" Shirou answers calmly.

At that, Sakura tenses up. "…Um. She's called Saber-san, Senpai?"

"Yeah, I know it's a strange name. I think she has some strange aspects, considering she's not used to Japan. …Oh, she might seem a bit blunt, but she's actually really kind. It'll help me out if you can be friends with her, Sakura?" He rubs the back of his head sheepishly as he asks.

"…Okay. That's fine, but…." Insider her head, alarm bells were ringing with increasing decibels. She turns to look at Taiga for help. "Fujimura-Sensei. Will you permit Saber-san's stay?"

Taiga thinks hard. She's in a difficult position. "Hmm. I can't approve of it as a teacher, but I can't just ignore someone who came depending on Kiritsugu-san. …She looks dependable, so I don't think anything will happen. Right, Shirou?"

Shirou frowns at Taiga's complete lack of politeness. "O-Of course. She's my guest if she's my father's guest. I can't do anything impolite to her. First of all, she's like my sister."

"Hmm. How old is she? She looks younger than Sakura-chan." Taiga starts to probe for more information.

"Huh? Um, I guess so." He avoids the question.

Taiga stays silent after that. Once they reach the bottom of the hill however…

"Do you like her, Shirou?"

Taiga states it as bluntly as possible.

"…! I-I don't know! I just met her too, so I can't answer a question like that!" He answers quickly.

"Hm. You're telling the truth, but it might be possible in the future, huh?" Taiga grows quiet as she crosses her arms and thinks.

The rest of the way home was quiet as Taiga and Sakura think.

"I guess it's fine. It'll be a good experience if we consider this as a homestay. This place has lots of empty rooms, you know?" Taiga decides as she bites into a rice cracker.

"Okay. It's not something I can protest about." Sakura concedes but her dejected face shows that she does not agree.

Dinner was prepared by Shirou: minced bonito salad, fried chicken, meat stew, and tempura of every kind. Everything was a perfect as can be. The bonito was caught fresh and prepared with the utmost care. Likewise, the vegetables were carefully chosen and kept in cold water to preserve their natural fibers. Only a slight drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil to add to the subtle scent and taste of the salad made it a healthy and yet delicious dish.

In contrast to the fresh and crisp salad, the fried chicken was crisp in a different sense. The chicken was tender, while the skin was lightly fried, making the textures compliment each other. As Shirou didn't have enough time to marinate the chicken properly, he opted for the hardier taste. With only salt, pepper, and cumin as the rub, the light breading allowed the salt and spices to easily integrate with the crispy surface.

Though it was finished last, the preparations for the stew took longer than the other two dishes and the cooking time extended until the very beginning of dinner, so it was started first. The meat stew was left to simmer for most of the cooking period, allowing the meat to tenderize and soak the spices. By letting most of the stock evaporate, the taste is slowly concentrated. Shirou took care in monitoring the change so that the spices did not overpower the natural savory of the beef. The beef also dissolved its fats into the stock and, though the excess was skimmed off, made the stew that much richer.

The tempura… adjectives are not adequate enough to describe it, so the less said, the better.

Yet none of this mattered.

To the four diners, dinner was eaten in silence.

Too busy thinking about the situation at hand, not one word was spoken except for "More, please."

Now in the living room, Taiga is watching the T.V. and Saber is sitting silent. Shirou is in the kitchen washing up after their meal.

"Fuji-nee. Can you walk Sakura home if you're gonna go home?"

Taiga remains silent and continues watching as if nothing has happened.

"…Oi. Didn't you hear me, Fuji-nee?" Shirou comes out of the kitchen, drying his hands. He walks up to Taiga and lightly taps her head.

"…I'm sorry, but I can't do that. I won't be able to take Sakura-chan home for a while," Taiga states, strangely serious.

"Why? Do you have to do something?"

She doesn't even hesitate when answering. "No, it's because I'll be staying here starting tonight."

Everyone freezes and the temperature drops at least five degrees centigrade.

"-Excuse me?" Shirou asks slowly.

Clapping her hands together, she turns to Sakura. "How about you join us, Sakura-chan? I can contact your place if you want. It's more fun for all of us to be here, right?"

She quickly looks up at the sudden shock of being asked. At least now she'll be able to get more information on Saber. "Oh…. Y-yes, please! You're really dependable, Fujimura-sensei!"

"All right. We can use the tatami room in the back! There's enough futons for all of us! That's fine with you, right, Saber-chan?"

"I'll set everything up then!" Sakura states enthusiastically as she hurries off.

Taiga can handle everything here. Shirou can't go against her in this situation and Saber will have to comply as well if she doesn't want to reveal her secret. Therefore, she should hurry to make the beds so that she will have maximum interrogation time. She has nothing against the girl, but her name is too close to what she wants to avoid. As long as the possibility exists, she can not take any chances.

Interlude

"I see. No, it's fine. Yes, please look after Sakura for me."

Zouken hangs up the phone and walks back to his chair. Sighing heavily, he sinks into the cushion and looks up at his grandson. The boy just stares back uncomfortably at him. Shaking his head and closing his eyes, he can't help but compare the boy to Sakura. She was everything he wasn't. A magus: sharp, cunning, and strong, as opposed to Shinji: a would-be magus that is indistinguishable from normal people, and a mind that can be crushed so easily.

Still, the boy was of his flesh and blood, as disappointing as it is, so he gave him a chance to prove himself in this war. Well, "proving himself" is a lie. He holds no regards or even expectations for the boy. No, Shinji is just to serve as nothing more than a pseudo-Master, a fake that will throw off the competition. If he so happens to think that he is to serve some greater purpose in this war, then let him, so long as he fulfills his real role.

"So she isn't coming home?" Shinji asks with his eyes closed.

"No, she isn't."

"Any particular reason?"

"If your fishing for information, you're going about it the wrong way, boy," Zouken chides. If it were Sakura, she would have asked far more subtly. She was a born strategist, able to perceive things many would overlook. Small twitches of muscles do not escape her during conversations despite her laissez-faire or carefree façade. "If you must know though, she's at a friend's house. The Emiyas apparently."

"…Emiya… Shirou?"

"I suppose," Zouken answers with a shrug. "I do not keep tabs that tightly on the two of you, especially over your social lives."

Shinji closes his eyes as he thinks. Slowly, he reaches across the table and picks up a book. Running his finger across the cover, the book starts to glow.

"Rider, come to me."

From out of the darkness, the shadow of a woman appears.

Rider stays silent as she is called by her Fake Master.

"And what are you planning to do?" Zouken asks without even turning to look.

Shinji stands up and grips the book tighter.

"I'm going to keep preparing. If everything works out, then not only will Rider get a major boost, we might even be able to deal some crippling damage to the opposition." Greed and eagerness is blatant on his face.

With that, Rider fades to invisibility and Shinji leaves.

Zouken doubts that whatever the boy comes up with will be worthwhile or effective. Still, with this, the boy will play out his role entirely fine. He'll set off a beacon that will alert every worthy magus and draw the heat away from Sakura. If he gets himself killed, all the better. The oppositions will think that Rider is taken out of the war, and besides, the world will not miss him that much anyways.

Still, something bothers him. "-Emiya, huh…? Now I wonder…"

End Interlude

"So how did you meet Kiritsugu-san, Saber-chan?" Taiga asks almost immediately upon setting down on her futon.

Sakura wanted to slap herself for the utter blatancy that her teacher can ask a question. The woman really has no tact whatsoever.

"I was in Germany with my foster parents. It seems that they knew Kiritsugu-san very well and lodged him for the remainder of his stay. It was during this time that we became acquainted," Saber answered quietly.

Sakura frowns. Her answer was not too quick or too slow; more than that though, it is a very plausible story. By keeping the answer very succinct, there are fewer loopholes to be exploited.

"Really? Ne- was that about 10 years ago?"

"Hmm…," Saber closes her eyes as if to think. "If today's date is February 3rd, then it would be closer to eleven years and a few months."

Sakura looks over to Taiga who has her eyes clenched shut as she tries to remember.

"Oh yeah…," Taiga agrees slowly. "A new year did just start, so it would be closer to eleven years." She sighs. "Man, he was gone for a really long time and I had to keep this place clean. It was terrible!"

Sakura holds back a sigh. It would seem that she will not be getting any decent answer so long as Taiga was leading the conversation. That said, Saber seems to be very conservative in conversations. It'll be difficult to get any answer at all if the questions are too roundabout. Perhaps the best way to get to the matter at hand would be to pose a direct question.

For questionings, the directness of the question rarely matters. A simple question without any disguise will give you an answer without any disguise, even if the other side may realize your intentions. Therefore, it is not the directness of a question that matters, but the delivery of the question.

"…A-ano… um… Saber-chan?" Sakura asks slowly as she gets the girl's attention.

"What is it?" Saber asks just as succinctly as she answers.

"…Um… how… should I address you? ….Um… if it's by your last name then…" Sakura trails off, looking down. In reality, she is quite pleased. In this case, since they are not close to each other, Saber will have to think of a name quickly to avoid being exposed. This will be but the first of the chinks in her answers.

"Ah- about that, hmm… you can continue calling me Saber-chan as usual."

"-Eh?" And so her carefully planned inquisition has been neatly circumvented.

"You've already called me that, and I think that if Shirou holds that much trust in you, then I should as well," Saber states with a smile.

Sakura clenches her teeth. The girl was good, very good. By stating it like that, there was no way for her to continue this line of question without seeming overtly direct and perhaps even confrontational. Regrettably, the blunder that allowed this to pass she made herself.

However, that statement might allow for a different line of question. It will not have any direct consequence to what she really wants to know about Saber, but it might lead to other more viable question lines. She may be grasping for straws with this, but she'll take it.

"Ah! Saber-chan!" Taiga exclaims excitedly. "What do you think of Shirou? I mean like actual 'like' and stuff!"

Sakura and Saber stares at the excited tiger. While Saber maintains her stoic façade, Sakura, unlike Taiga, had the decency to blush not only at the directness of the question, but also at the point-blank delivery. True, she had wanted to ask Saber the very same question as well, but perhaps better phrased. Only Taiga would seek refuge in audacity.

However, the question has already been placed and Saber looks at the two of them seriously. "…I have only met Shirou since last night," Saber starts slowly. "But I can tell that he is a strong person that is very dependable."

Sakura and Taiga look at each other and smile. Shirou does give off the vibe that he is just that. His confidence and dependability are his redeeming features. Sakura does not know about Taiga, but she feels that these attributes were probably what attracted her to him in the first place.

"…However…," Saber continues softly. Both Sakura and Taiga look back at Saber again. "…I also think that he is far… too kind." She looks at them square in the eye. Sakura inhales sharply from the sheer determination that radiates from the girl in front of her. "…Therefore, I will make sure to keep him safe as best I can."

A moment of silence passes between them as they try to sort out the tension in the air.

Taiga smiles and places her hand on Saber's shoulder. "Well, that makes three of us."

Saber only responds by tilting her head slightly in confusion.

Taiga nods understandingly as she leans back flat on her futon. "That boy certainly gives off a strong vibe, but he's a little kid inside." She grins. "Since he doesn't know when to stop, that's why me and Sakura have our work cut out."

Stretching her arms and closing her eyes, she continues. "I don't really understand everything about you, Saber-chan, but that's not important." She sits back up in seiza and bows her head slightly. "If you can see that about him and really think that way about Shirou, then please give him your best regards."

Sakura sighs and nods in agreement. At the very least, she can't argue with that kind of statement. It represented everything for which she had lived. If Saber wishes to help Shirou with the best interest in heart, then the foreign girl is just like herself.

"Ah-! I almost forgot!" Taiga exclaims. Sakura and Saber just stares at her without much shock. Sakura is already used to the older woman's antics and Saber is always with her calm demeanor. "Since I was too interested in finding out about Saber, I forgot to introduce us."

"Ahem," clearing her throat, the tiger waves dramatically. "I am Fujimura Taiga, not 'tiger,' _okay_, Saber-chan?" Taiga ridiculously states the word 'okay' in English.

"_Very well_," Saber responds in kind. "_It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance_."

Taiga just blinks in shock before shaking her head and moving on. "And this is Matou Sakura, underclassman of Shirou and prospect of the archery club. Her three sizes are secret, but she is really great when it comes to Western foods."

"Fujimura-sensei, you're praising me too much," Sakura says while blushing. "Besides, those two comments have nothing to do with each other."

"Really? Well, if you want to steer the conversation away then…"

And so, for the next few hours, three girls continue to talk. After midnight comes and passes, the three finally settle down to sleep. Their quiet breathing is the only sound in the dark room.

Sakura's eyes snapped open after only a few minutes of lying down. She sits up and carefully and quietly makes her way to the bathroom. Within this private domain, she begins to reflect.

Saber is speaking the truth, for the most part. The details of what she stated during the conversations were true, that much is certain. There are no discrepancies in the various overlapping stories, as far as she can discern, meaning that they were either true, or Saber has already planned this out. However, with the degree of details that she was able to provide with both Taiga and herself asking questions meant that the probability of the accounts being true is significantly more viable.

However, that is not the issue. Sakura feels a close kinship with the girl. Perhaps if both of them had met under different circumstances, they could have been very good friends. No, Saber herself was not bad. But her mere presence is too dangerous. Furthermore, something seems… off about Saber.

"…Something," she mutters as she washes her hands. "Something doesn't fit with the image that I have of her."

Walking out the bathroom sleepily, she doesn't notice her white-haired red eyes reflection in the mirror thinking pensively.

"…She was sitting in seiza for the entire conversation."

* * *

Tiger Dojo

Tiger stylized screen doors open to a dojo.

Taiga: Hurry it up! You're almost there! Pump those legs!

Illya: Urusai! Urusai! Urusai!

Taiga: SHE'S RIGHT BEHIND YOU!

Illya: Close the door, close the door!

Tiger doors are now closed.

Illya: *pant* *pant* That was *pant* too close.

Taiga: You're telling me. She almost got in!

Illya: Not my fault! I was running as fast as I can.

Taiga: Here's some water.

Illya: Thanks.

Taiga: Oi! That's not for you. It's for the instant noodles.

Illya: ...What?

Taiga: The water is for making the instant noodles.

Illya: The ones I just risked my life to bring back?

Taiga: The ones you just risked your life to bring back.

Illya: ...

Taiga: ...

Illya: SHOW SOME FREAKING RESPECT!

Taiga: Ha~ah... but I'm too hungry to do that.

Illya: Grrrr... you're lucky that I'm hungry too...

Taiga: Well, while we're waiting for the noodles to be done, let's recap on what's happened.

Illya: Well, since that unfortunate incident last chapter, someone's been assigned to watch over the dojo.

Taiga: But we can't let her enter because she'll just take it away from us.

Illya: Taiga feels especially threatened because the person is also a teacher.

Taiga: I'm not threatened. But basically, we are holding a fort here and food supplies were running low.

Illya: So I had to do a food run. Hmm... it seems like these Tiger Dojos are becoming their own mini-series.

Taiga: It can't be helped. Nothing happened at all this chapter.

Illya: Sad to say, nothing happened at all.

Taiga: That dinner by Shirou was really delicious though.

Illya: Gee, I'm sooooo glad for you.

Taiga: Hmm? Are you upset Illya?

Illya: Of course not! Why would I be upset when I haven't even done anything significant at all!

Taiga: Well, cheer up. I hear that the next chapter will actually have a confrontation.

Illya: Hehehe...

Taiga: ...Wow, it's been a while since I've heard the Evil Snickering Loli.

Illya: Well, want to hear a preview?

Taiga: Eh~ sure. We've got nothing else better to talk about. Since NOTHING happened at all this chapter.

Illya: Next chapter, Berserker will try to single-handedly take down Caster!

Taiga: Ooh, interesting development.

Illya: But the combined skills of Caster, her master, and Assassin and the poor terrain stops him.

Taiga: Are they even that powerful to stop him... I mean, seriously?

Illya: Not yet defeated, his beautiful and gracious master decides to form an alliance!

Taiga: There may have been two-too many adjectives there, but... an alliance? With whom?

Illya: Sadly, cute yet strong Magical Girl Illya runs into Lancer who impales her with extreme prejudice!

Taiga: Plot twist!

Illya: Is this the end for our beloved heroine? Find out next time on False Advent Wars: Broken Phantoms, Foam, and Waves! Don't cry little girl, I'll be by your side!

Taiga: Are you still talking about all these fake paths?

Illya: Well, I have to say something. Nothing else happened that we can talk about here.

Taiga: I suppose.

Illya: Don't worry, something like that definitely won't happen so we don't have to worry like last time.

Taiga: Good point. Oh hey! The instant noodles are done.

Illya: Great! Let's eat!

Taiga: By the way, what flavor is it?

Illya: Instant Curry Udon.

?: "SEVEN!"

Taiga & Illya: WHA-?

Doors are now being broken. Please watch warmly until the dust settles.

* * *

**And that's the end of that chapter. I apologize for the very delayed update, and especially for a chapter where not much happened. Still real life is starting again and so the next chapter may be even later. Here's hoping that it won't come to that though.  
**


	6. Day 4: Fate Finale Former Part

**Nothing much to say here.**

* * *

Chapter 6: Fate Finale Former Part

**2/4**

Interlude

_A conversation with an old friend._

"_You don't have to do this you know…"_

"_No, I do."_

"_Even if you do nothing -"_

"_Then no one else will."_

"_You don't know that for certain."_

"_Besides, you'd be disappointed in me if I didn't."_

"_T-that's not -!"_

"_Shh… don't worry, I agree."_

End Interlude

Morning comes and Sakura wakes up with a stretch. She looks around dazed as she finds herself not on her own bed, but much lower to the ground.

'Ah- yeah, I stayed over at Shirou's last night.' She yawns and rubs the sleep away from her eyes.

Looking over to her side, she sees Saber asleep under her own futon. With such a gentle sleeping face, she could hardly believe that such a girl could even possibly be a danger. Looking over to her other side, she couldn't find the should-be sleeping tiger.

"Does she wake up early?" Sakura mutters to herself. It didn't seem likely. Taiga seems to be the kind of person who would sleep in until the last minute before rushing.

Shaking her head, she heads to one of the bathrooms and performs her morning rituals. As she's brushing her hair in front of the mirror, she frowns. Last night was somewhat informing, but there was nothing concrete for her to go on. Saber, if she is a Servant, then she is an exceptional one. However, she doesn't show any sign of being one.

After making sure that Saber was asleep, she had tried a few spells, but she could learn of nothing. Normally, with minor modifications, she could temporarily give herself false Pure Eyes. While such an act is tremendously straining on her Prana and eyes, she had felt that it would have been worth it to see if Saber was a Servant.

Normal humans would have given off a colorless aura. Saber's aura was almost as colorless as Taiga's, if only slightly more condense.

Other spells that would reveal something that would signify her as a Servant, such as a Command Seal bond or even showing her parameters, would simply not work. Either Saber is strong enough to suppress the link between her and her Master, or is simply not a Servant. If she is a Servant, she would have abilities that are beyond that of any human. Even an E-rank in any stat is above what any human can ever achieve. If she doesn't have any calculable parameters, then perhaps she was just an ordinary human, albeit with a strange and coincidental name.

She checks to make sure that everything is in place, and exits the bathroom. Heading to the kitchen, she is surprised to see Saber already up and alert.

"Ohayou," Sakura greets Saber.

"Ohayou, Sakura," Saber returns with a smile.

The two head to the living room in relative silence. Saber's demeanor became stoic once again after her greeting and Sakura couldn't think of any idle conversation topics.

"Ano, Saber-chan, do you have anything that you would like to eat this morning?" Sakura asks as she turns towards the kitchen.

"Not particularly," Saber states simply.

Sakura simply nods as she sets to work.

"Itadakimasu!" four voices call out.

"Hmm?" Shirou looks over to Sakura. "This tastes a bit thin. Did you change it somehow, Sakura?"

She nods. "Yes. I thought Saber-chan wouldn't be used to miso soup, so I didn't put in too much miso."

"Yes, I like this miso soup better than last night's, but please cook at your leisure since I am used to Japanese food. It will be for our mutual benefit."

"R-really? Wow, you're using chopsticks. …I'm shocked. You sure are multi-talented."

"I am used to it. But to be honest, chopsticks are tiring. I do believe it is better than fork and spoon though."

"Hmm… I kinda like fork and spoon," Taiga says as she reaches across the table.

"Eh~ really?" Shirou asks. "That's surprising."

"Really?"

"I think so too," Sakura adds. "You don't really seem like a person who would use fork and spoon. Why?"

"It makes me feel really classy," Taiga admits proudly.

"Yeah, I figured it had to be something like that," Shirou sighs.

"Hehehe, impressed aren't you?" Taiga elbows Shirou's side. "Oh! Hold on Saber-chan, you're supposed to use soy sauce with that."

"I see. Thank you for the advice."

"No problem. Ne~ Shirou, as reward for my good deed, give me some of your seaweed."

"Not exactly something you should get rewarded for," Shirou grumbles as he picks some up. "Here, just don't eat too much and fall asleep again."

"Sensei? I think you should hold back if you're going to be participating in morning practice…"

"This much is fine," Taiga replies while still chewing. "I have to eat a lot to make it until lunch. And you're not one to talk, eating riceballs after morning practices."

"-! You knew about that, Sensei?"

"Heh. I was watching you because you were in the corner acting suspiciously. You shouldn't, you know? A girl your age shouldn't eat two meals in the morning." She smirks evilly. "The devil comes down on your scale like a terrorist. According to my estimate, your weight right now is-"

"No! Please don't, Sensei! I won't come cook anymore if you say it!" Sakura glares at Taiga.

Taiga frowns. "Man…"

"A-And I only eat like that once in a while. It's not like I do it every day!"

"Really?" Shirou questions as he looks at her. "I thought you made riceballs everyday since you always cooked extra rice."

"Y-y-y-y-y-you knew, Senpai?"

"Haha, that won't do, Sakura-chan. Shirou's pretty sharp on details, though only at times like this. I bet he knew from the first time you made it."

"First time? You mean during summer last year? And what's with that 'only at times like this?'"

"-!"

"…? Sakura, why are you waving your hands around like that?"

Interlude

"…. Huh…. Huh… huh..." She breathes out heavily. Her eyes narrow as the dust starts to clear. Her day had already started badly enough, and things just had to keep getting worse.

First, he came to school without his Servant. She had half the mind to lash out at him, punch him, kick him where the sun doesn't shine, maybe even blast him a few times with Gandr, but she calmed herself. Then he had the gall to call out and say hi to her as if they were friends. She would have killed him then and there, but she held herself back. First and foremost, she was a magus, and fighting in front of witnesses was simply unacceptable.

By midday, she had vented most of her anger, so she was slightly in a better mood. Then he just had to show up in front of her again. She was going to let him go, but he still held on to the naïve belief that she wouldn't attack him. Simply seeing him made her angry again. So she did the only sensible thing at the time.

After wrecking two hallways and a classroom later, she managed to corner him. However, at that moment, she felt a surge of Prana and everything became a sickly magenta. The barrier that she was sure was far from completed had just been activated.

She decided to form a temporary truce with him since they were both trapped in the bounded field together, and they checked the lower floors. Everybody who was still on school grounds was unconscious and their Prana was being siphoned fast. If there was one thing she could congratulate him on, it was that despite the image of death surrounding them, he continued to keep a level head.

Or at least… he did until they ran into the perpetrator.

Shinji Matou was apparently the Master of Rider, though how he came to be she couldn't even begin to guess. As she is the head of the family that protects this land, she is supposed to be informed of any and all magi that may come, resident or on vacation. She knows that the Matou have been living here for at least the last 200 years, but she also knows full well that their bloodline have been dying out and that Shinji wouldn't have even one Magic Circuit. The most likely reason he can act as a Master is perhaps that book he's holding is somehow giving him the ability.

Still, he was commanding Rider and against a Servant, no matter how great she may be, she is still a human. She readies her Command Seal and prepares to summon Archer. Yet her temporary ally doesn't seem to understand the situation he was in.

"How nice to have you both here at the same time, Emiya, Tohsaka," Shinji drawls.

"Shinji," Emiya grits out. "So you're the one who set this thing up?"

"Now, now, do you really think that I can do something like that? No, my Rider is the one who set this up."

He frowns slightly. "Come now, Emiya, I didn't ask for this you know. I'm just a random person that got caught up in this, just like you."

"Oh yeah? Then you wouldn't mind exiting the war right? It's dangerous."

"Heh, come now, Emiya. There's so much more that can be gained by fighting in this so called 'Holy War.' Come on, if you're here then that means that you're a Master too right? We can work together and split the prize. What do you say? We'll have a better chance of winning than if we're just working alone."

Emiya frowns as he looks outside the window. "Then why did you set up this bounded field? Do you know what it's doing right now?"

Shinji sighs. "Geez, weren't you listening? _**I**_ didn't set up the field, Rider did. Besides, for someone who's weak like me, I need every advantage I can get to live through this war. What's a few insignificant lives anyways?"

His body tenses as he levels a chair leg at Shinji. "Then we can't work together."

"Tch… then how about it, Tohsaka? Since Emiya won't join me, how about we kill him together?"

"Heh, you're an even bigger idiot than I thought," she snorts. "Emiya may be an idiot as well, but I'd sooner join him than you."

It took a second for Shinji to realize that he had been rejected. "KILL THEM RIDER!"

A black blur rockets down the hallway. A dagger like a silvery snake shoots and aims for his neck. Emiya quickly brings up the chair leg and deflects the dagger, breaking the reinforced item in the process. But that leaves him open as Rider bears down on him and kicks him solidly into the wall. Before he could even slide down, a spike is driven into his shoulder, pinning him.

"Keh-!" Shinji spats. "I gave you a chance because we really could have worked together, but I guess that you couldn't see it my way."

He slowly saunters towards the limp boy. "Man! You really look pathetic you know? Just like that teacher, Fujimura. She was still struggling when the field was set up. She told me to call the ambulance and help the students out, a model teacher isn't she? But I shouldn't call for something like that, and I don't even want to. That Fujimura kept clinging to me and it got annoying, so I kicked her and she ended up not moving at -!"

Shinji is sent flying towards the window. In the midst of his gloating, Emiya punchs him hard while still being stuck to the wall. Rider quickly moves to kill Emiya, though she suddenly notices a movement slightly down the hallway.

The moment that Shinji was knocked towards the window and Rider's attention shifted for a fraction of a second, she was already rushing towards Shinji. Abandoning Emiya, Rider jumps towards Shinji and pulls him away before deflecting three black sickly bullets.

"D-damn you Emiya," Shinji grits as he tries to stop his nosebleed. A trickle of blood runs down from the corner of his mouth though. "Rider! Use your Noble Phantasm and kill them both!"

She had used the time given when Rider retreated with Shinji to reach Emiya and was trying to remove the spike. Though she removed it, she could only turn and watch as Rider takes her spike dagger… and stab herself through the neck?

A red eye. The blood forms into a circle as the image of an eye forms. An immense amount of Prana surges and she realizes that in this instance, even if she were to call Archer, she will still die…

"BELLEROPH-!"

"Stop it, Rider," a small but calm voice calls out.

And the attack stops. The circle of blood vanishes as Rider straightens up. She grips her throat and the blood stops flowing almost immediately.

Stepping out from behind a corner, Sakura enters into everyone's view.

End Interlude

The entire corridor becomes silent and still as Sakura walks over and stops just in front of Rin and Shirou. She spares them a glance before focusing her attention on the Master and Servant in front of her.

"Grrr… Sakura, what are you doing here?" Shinji grits out.

Sakura just looks at him. Her stare changes to Rider, and her eyes narrow.

Rider could feel the air around her get colder. Sakura is by nature calm and kind. However, push her too far, and she can become cold and merciless, even without having to revert to that false altered form.

"I should be asking you that, Nii-san. Just what do you think you're doing?"

"H-hmph, obviously I'm trying to harvest the Prana here," Shinji answers, trying to put strength in his words.

"I can see that. And your reasoning…?" Sakura does not take her eyes off of Rider.

"W-well, we can take all of the Prana here a-and if it means killing other Masters like those two, t-t-then…!"

He is suddenly silenced as Sakura shifts her view to glare at him.

"I do not recall giving you any authorization to do that, nor do I recall you ever telling me of this. Either of you…."

"S-since when did I ever need your authorization? And I have discussed this with Gramps!"

"Really?" Sakura quickly turns. "Then I'm going to have a long discussion with him. Come Rider."

Rider nods once and prepares to take down the bounded field.

"Hold it!"

Everyone turns back to Shinji.

"I'm not done here! Rider, keep the bounded field up! We can still kill Emiya and Tohsaka here!"

The moment he said that, the book in his hand starts to burn. The blue flames burn his hand, causing him to drop the book, and soon, it is nothing more than a pile of smoldering ash.

"Guh-" Shinji gulps as he takes one terrified look at his sister.

"Get out of my sight," Sakura snarls.

One nasty glance is enough to send Shinji running.

Shaking her head, Sakura turns and attempts to walk away once again.

Once again, she is interrupted. "Hold on, Sakura," Shirou calls out to her.

"What are you going to do now?"

"…" She pauses and turns to look at him. Despite still bleeding profusely from his wound, he is still staring straight ahead at her. Walking over to him, she kneels down in front of him and takes out her handkerchief.

"Senpai, will you be alright?" she asks with genuine worry.

"Eh? Oh the wound, don't worry, it'll heal. More importantly Sakura-"

She stops him by placing one finger on his lips. Taking her handkerchief, she dabs at the wound to clean it up somewhat before folding the cloth and pressing it against the wound to stem the blood.

"I would like an answer to Emiya's question as well, Sakura," Rin's voice interrupts her thoughts.

After making sure that her senpai can stem the blood on his own, she stands up to face Rin. "I will be going home, Tohsaka-senpai," she states steely. "It would seem that there have been plans that have escaped both my knowledge and consent."

"And this bounded field?"

"Of course it will be taken down immediately. Rider, please take down Blood Fort Andromeda."

Rider nods. And like a scarlet mist dissipating, the school returns to normal.

"What will you do, Tohsaka-senpai? Will you go home as well?"

"…No, there needs to be someone who will explain this to the medical personnel."

"I see. Then I will be taking my leave. It would look too suspicious if there are too many of us who didn't collapse."

Sakura turns and starts walking.

"Sakura!" Shirou calls out to her. "Please come by tonight. I think we will need to talk about all this."

"….Alright, Senpai."

Interlude

"What will you do then, Emiya? Go home?" She asks as she hangs up the school's phone. She had just called the hospital and told them that everyone in the school was suffering from extreme fatigue. She couldn't have very well told them that everyone just had their life force drained. Explaining the conditions of the people who had their skin partially melted was going to be tricky though.

"-Nah, I think I'll stay here for a while."

"Why? Does your wound need medical attention? If so, then we're going to have to find a way to explain how you got a stab wound when everyone else fainted. Or don't tell me that it's something cliché like you're worried about me staying behind at school alone like this."

"Errr…."

"God, you're just as dumb as you look."

"I've been telling you that for a while now." A voice called out from down the hallway.

"You took your time," Rin lightly scolds her Servant as he comes into view.

"My apologies. However, you didn't call for me. I thought you just wanted to deal with him on your own," Archer replies nonchalantly. Once his gaze drifted to Emiya though, "But it seems that you couldn't deal with him." While Archer still seemed calm, his Master could tell that he would strike at any given moment.

"Don't kill him, Archer."

"-Oh?" Archer smirks as he folds his arms. "I see how it is."

"W-what's with the knowing nods?"

"So my Master has fallen for the enemy."

"W-w-what? Don't be ridiculous!"

"Then you won't mind if I kill him now right?"

"No! I…still have a debt to pay him."

"And just what debt is this? / What are you talking about Tohsaka?" Both Emiya and Archer speak at once. They both glare at each other at the same time as well.

"If he hadn't stalled Shinji long enough for Sakura to come around, then I might have needed to waste a Command Crest calling for you."

Archer and Emiya look at her in shock.

"That's the reason?" they ask again in stereo.

"-GAAAAHHHH! Just shut up! Just SHUT UP! BOTH of you!"

In the end, trusting that she could take care of herself, especially with Archer with her, Emiya left for home.

"By the way, Rin."

"What is it now?"

"You said that Sakura showed up?"

"Oh yeah. It turns out that she's Rider's real Master."

"…You don't say…"

"What? What about it?"

"Nothing… I didn't see her when I was coming in though."

"Hmm… I guess you just missed each other. She left just a bit before you showed up."

* * *

Tiger Dojo

Tiger stylized screen doors open to a dojo.

Illya: Welcome, welcome everybody! Wow! It sure feels like it's been a long time since we've last met!

Taiga: Yeah! A really really long time!

Illya: A really really long, long, long time!

Taiga: Almost a whole year ago, wouldn't you say First Student?

Illya: Yeah! A whole year.

Taiga: Well, as an apology, it seems like we got the Tiger Dojo back to ourselves.

Illya: Really? I thought that it was because the last fiasco took forever to repair.

Taiga: Hahaha-! I really should send that Probationary Teacher a thank you note!

Illya: So now we're finally back.

Taiga: Ah~! I really don't feel like talking that much.

Illya: Wait, what?

Taiga: We've got the dojo back so we won right? I just want to laze around here then.

Illya: H-hey, Taiga, get off of the floor! We have guests here!

Taiga: Ah~ it's really cool down here.

Illya: *sigh* Well, while that idiot's off I guess I'll address the readers.

Illya: Ahem. Dying isn't easy. Try asking Shirou-nii. That said, the terrible truth about college comes to life.

Illya: As it turns out, colleges kills not only literally, but also socially, politically, ethically, and grammatically.

Taiga: That's a joke from somewhere!

Illya: Anyways, there's that, but there's also the fact that lazing about for a few weeks without doing anything.

Taiga: Oh and the Beta Reader.

Illya: Quit trying to push the blame! The buck stops here!

Taiga: Ack! My role as an adviser is being threatened!

Illya: Oh you're off the floor now? Well, let's start getting serious.

Taiga: Fine. I suppose that I'll have to earn my paycheck by working.

Illya: There's something wrong with your logic. Anyways, so what did you think about this chapter?

Taiga: The pacing was horrible.

Illya: That was surprisingly blunt.

Taiga: It was surprisingly that bad.

Illya: I'm going to assume you're talking about Senpai's interlude.

Taiga: I understand that probably nothing interesting at all happened after breakfast, but couldn't something have been done before that in media res?

Illya: There were other problems too. You want to hear my conversation with the author?

Taiga: I suppose but since this is going on long enough, this will be the last thing. Got it?

Illya: Yep. Well here goes:

**You know those authors who promise to finish their stories but never actually get around to working on them?**

**Yeah, hypocritical humor's funny like that.**

Doors close


	7. Day 4: Fate Finale Latter Part

**So before studying starts...**

* * *

Chapter 7: Fate Finale Latter Part

Interlude

Hmm… he was pretty strong… well, nothing more than that though.

Assassin leans back as he thinks back to the night before. Berserker and his Master had shown up and launched an attack. Since there was a boundary around the temple, they headed in through the front gate. In retrospect, considering Berserker's strength and his Master's arrogance, he doesn't doubt that they would have launched a frontal attack even if there wasn't a barrier.

For someone so huge, Berserker could move quickly. That kind of speed should be not be possible for someone with so much mass. It was comparable to his own sword speed. No… it was far greater than his sword. If Berserker could move that fast while so big, had he been smaller, he would have been able to move even faster.

One swing from the rock sword was enough to tell of the strength behind it. But strength was all it had. There was no technique. There was no skill. There was no foresight. A raw attack of pure power. That was all it was, and all it will ever be as long as he is Berserker.

However, his defense was his strongest point. Not one of his attacks even scratched the giant's skin. Caster's attack seemed to damage him for a bit though. Not any notable damage, but he was forced to defend on many occasions. Most of it was to keep his Master safe.

Well, it doesn't even need to be said, but if his Master dies, then he will die. Against such an insanely strong opponent, obviously attacking the Master would be the best course of action. Even if Caster's Master was good, the three of them together barely managed to defend the temple, and Berserker and his Master were still alive.

"You should use this time to reflect on what you did wrong last night," Caster's voice drifted to him.

"I was thinking about it, until you show up. Now I don't really want to."

"There is no saying if Berserker will attack again tonight."

"And there's no saying if he won't."

"Nevertheless, you will still have to keep guard."

"Don't I always?"

"Don't get cheeky with me. Or do you want me to explode your ribs again?"

Assassin winced. "Let's not have to come to that."

"Good."

"… By the way. It kinda seemed like you knew him."

"… … … I'm… not sure."

"?"

"He was able to resist my spells, spells that come from the Age of the Gods."

"So you think he's someone from that time as well."

"I can only think of one person who would be that strong. And we have little chance against him in a fight if I'm right."

"So who are you thinking of?"

"…Herakles…"

"… … … … … … … … … … … Don't know. Don't care."

"Take this more seriously. If he really is Herakles, then nothing will be able to stop him. The greatest of the Greek heroes, endowed by many of the most divine deities, and strongest of any mortal men when he was alive. Now that he is a heroic spirit, his legend is spread far and wide, and his strength would only grow."

"Two things. One: if he is this Herakles, then sure. Two: even if he is, I don't care. I have no interest fighting a mindless puppet, even if he is the greatest puppet in the world. He can be the greatest hero the world ever knew, but if he's Berserker, then he's useless. There's no thrill in fighting a warrior when he's not at his best."

"Hmph, you sound like that Lancer that showed up."

"Heh… now there's a guy that speaks my language. Too bad that his Master made him hold back. Could've been a pretty good match."

"If his Master really held him back, then you should have done everyone a favor and killed him there."

"Nah, he said his mission was just to scout, so the next time we meet, we'll be able to go all out. So I let him go."

"… … You… _**let**_… him… go…"

"Yep. I said I'm always here, so he'll know where to find me if he gets bored."

"… … … I should kill you right now."

"What? Don't you have something you look forward to? All I want right now is a good fight. Preferably though… I want to try fighting against Saber."

"Your swordsman's pride talking again?"

"Something like that."

"Well -?"

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"A bounded field is set up at the school!"

"…."

"…. …. …. Ah~ Souichirou is safe. I'll be off to look into this. Be sure to greet Souichirou when he gets here. He just came from the school, so I'm worried about his health."

"… Fine. An assassin schoolteacher teaching ethics. Man, all the Masters here are so weird."

"Says the guy who's Master is a torii."

Assassin had no comeback for that.

Interlude Out

Interlude

"…"

"You felt that too?"

"Indeed Lancer. It seems that someone is trying to set up a bounded field at the school."

"Don't expect me to do anything."

"Not at all. You've already met up with every other Servant, so I can't expect you to hold back against them anymore."

"And that's what I don't get! Why hold me back at all?"

"Patience is a virtue, Lancer. You would do well to appreciate the finer things in life."

"Just shut up, you fake priest…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"You know, there seems to be some good fighters this time. Saber was pretty good, actually managed to avoid my lance. Assassin was okay too, but we couldn't really go all out."

"…"

"That Caster chick knew some interesting tricks too. Too bad Berserker couldn't be sane. He seems strong enough already without the Mad Enhancement. Wonder what his Master's thinking…"

"…"

"Hey… say something will ya'?"

"… I believe you just told me to shut up."

"What are you, five?"

"Not at all. I just like to avoid trouble where I can."

"That attitude is going to get you in more trouble later."

"By the way, I didn't hear you mention Archer."

"Tsk… don't remind me. Seriously! What kind of archer fights with dual blades?"

"A dangerous one. Especially if he managed to cornered you with swords rather than arrows."

"I wasn't cornered! And just who's fault was it that held me back? If I had been fighting at full strength, I would have killed him immediately for that stunt!"

"And all of that is in the past. Well, I'm thinking of another mission for you."

"Oh joy! What will it be this time? Tea ceremony with the Masters? Rescuing lost cats? Fishing for dinner?"

"I might hold you to that…"

"You can't be serious!"

"No, I'm not. Well, I'll tell you the details later."

"Tch…"

Interlude Out

Interlude

"Ojou-sama, a bounded field was set up a few minutes ago at the local school."

"Don't care. And don't disturb me right now."

"Please take this more seriously Ojou-sama. As you know, the Einzbern family is counting you to win this war."

"…! Grr… darn you Lesyritt!"

"You are not very good at Old Maid, Illya."

"… Will you two please take this more seriously?"

"What's there to take more seriously of, Sella? I don't care what happens to that school."

"But Illya, what happens if that boy gets caught up in that?"

"Hmph! If he gets killed from that then he wasn't as worthy as I thought he was. He isn't worthy of me personally killing him."

"…Oh my…"

"See Lesyritt? Ojou-sama knows where her priorities lie."

"Exactly, Sella!"

"… I was just thinking how cute Illya is when she's all 'tsuntsun.'"

"W-what?"

"Lesyritt! Hold your tongue, and take that back immediately. How dare you insult Ojou-sama?"

"If I'm holding my tongue, just how do you propose I take that back?"

"A-a-anyways, there's nothing between me and Kiritsugu's son, other than my desire to kill him for betraying the Einzbern family."

"…"

"If you say so."

"More than that, there's something I need you two to check."

"What is it, Ojou-sama?"

"It seems that someone tried to break the rules during the summoning of one of the classes. Well, they're already in the war so nothing can really be done, but check it out anyways."

"Is it enough to disqualify them from the war?"

"No… since we, the Einzbern, broke almost every other rule in the third war, to make an issue of it now would be calling the kettle black. Well, Sella, can I count on you?"

"Of course, Ojou-sama! I'll be off at once."

"Good. Then Lesyritt, another game!"

"Hai."

"W-wait… just me alone?"

"Well you were so enthusiastic about it."

"Good luck, Sella."

"…Wahhhh~ cruel Lesyritt!"

Interlude Out

Interlude

In the dark, an old man smiles. Zouken was happy. His useless grandson had done what he had predicted, made a beacon that alerted more or less everyone in the city. How effective this will be is dependent on how much the other Masters know, but confusion will be sown. At the very least, except for the two Masters who witnessed the whole scenario, everyone else should be wondering what had happened.

Well, it seems that Sakura was not as enthusiastic about what had happened. When she stormed into the basement, even he had to raise an eyebrow at her demeanor. He answered her truthfully. He knew that Shinji was planning something incredibly stupid and would have no chance of success, but he didn't know that Shinji was planning to set up that bounded field at the school.

How was he supposed to stop Shinji when he didn't know the specifics of the plan? He also pointed out that as Rider's true Master, she should have been the first to have known. That she doesn't and got caught off guard only shows that she is not as prepared as she thought she is.

He agreed with her revoking of Shinji's right as a Master, though he played up his disappointment. In all honesty, he had hoped that Shinji's stunt would make her angry enough to take back her position as Master, though he never thought it would work this well. Shinji had served his purpose. There was no more use to him.

His plan was moving along well enough. Sakura left shortly after speaking with him to go somewhere. She didn't tell him, but he could tell that she was going to the Emiya house. Either to silence the Master or to broker a deal with him. If she can talk well enough, perhaps he would be a potential ally. Knowing Emiya Kiritsugu, his chosen heir would be quite powerful and a powerful pawn is always useful.

For now though, he'll focus on his end. To tip the war in his favor, another unknown variable will have to be included. If that variable is able to weaken another faction, then all the more to him.

"-[][][][][][][][][][][]!"

The dark writhing mass in front of him starts to spread until they form a circle. From the middle of the circle he could hear the unfortunate sacrifice chuckling.

"Hehehe… what do you know? My ribs did get exploded again…"

Assassin was taken off guard. Under the pale moonlight, his chest exploded from seemingly nothing and now he lay useless on the ground. He can tell that he is being used for some sinister purpose, but what he doesn't know.

"-[][][]—[][][][][]-[][][][]…."

The sickening sounds of gnawing. So that's what he's being used for. He sighs. He wouldn't have minded it much if he had died from a fight. For him to be used as fodder for something or other… well, it can't be that honorable if it's being made from his flesh.

Whatever was being born from his carcass is slowly eating away at him. It slowly bites and eats at his organs. He couldn't die from something like that. Pain doesn't matter much to him, being a spirit and all, but it is mildly discomforting realizing that his body is being chewed slowly.

Even if he wanted to call for help or even warn Caster, he can't. His arms and legs are useless and his vocal cords are already eaten. Well, his end is fitting. An ignominious death for an ignominious spirit. Still… he can't shake the feeling that he would have felt much more satisfied if he had at least met with Saber…

Under the pale moonlight, a thin dark figure stands up. Its face is ashen white like that of a skull. Another figure, just as grotesque meets up with it.

"Hello… Master…"

"Welcome to the land of the living, Assassin."

* * *

Tiger Dojo

Tiger stylized screen doors open to a dojo.

Illya: What!

Illya: The!

Illya: Hell!

Illya: Was!

Illya: THAT?

Taiga: Welcome to the Tiger Dojo, where lost readers can find reprieve.

Illya: I know that there were development issues, but seriously?

Taiga: For the sake of readers and plot, this place was created.

Illya: Why? Why? Why?

Taiga: Jaa... about today's episode...

Illya/Taiga: WHY AM I THE THE BOKE? / WHY AM I THE TSUKKOMI?

Tiger stylized screen doors close.

Tiger stylized screen doors open to a dojo.

Taiga: Welcome everyone to this episode of Tiger Dojo.

Illya: I think we've already done this gag before.

Taiga: ...

Illya: I think we've already done this gag before. It was so important I had to say it twice.

Taiga: Well, never mind all of that. So you were saying?

Illya: Mou... it leaves a bad taste in my mouth to leave a gag hanging, but we do need to hurry this up.

Taiga: Well, we don't have to hurry it up so much since the main chapter was so short.

Illya: Like the title stated, this was supposed to be the latter part of the previous chapter.

Taiga: Why did it turn out like this anyways? It was more like an interlude in an interlude.

Illya: Remember how we were talking about the bad pacing in the previous chapter?

Taiga: Not really. I don't even remember what I had for breakfast today!

Illya: Not something to be proud of. Anyways, there was a reason for that.

Taiga: Reason, or excuse?

Illya: Excuse... definitely excuse. Ahem. Anyways, the reason was because for a while, the story actually ended on this chapter. That's why it carries the "Finale Latter Part."

Taiga: Seriously?

Illya: Kinda. We'll be able to talk about all of the branching paths that didn't get included once this story ends.

Taiga: You mean, if it ever ends.

Illya: It'll end. It'll definitely end. It'll probably end. No! It'll definitely end! I mean, I guess that up to now, this counts as the introduction to this story.

Taiga: I don't know if I want to call it long or short...

Illya: Since the first part is concluded, in celebration, we'll talk about some other stuff!

Taiga: You mean that since we have to fill the time slot, we're just going to talk about some random things.

Illya: Don't worry about the details. So, what do you want to talk about?

Taiga: Eh? You didn't think of a topic?

Illya: I have several, I just thought that I should let you go first.

Taiga: What's with this uprighteous attitude?

Illya: You can pick from these:

1. Magic of the Nasuverse

2. Kohaku's new shady drug

3. Zelretch messing around again

4. It's a Clock Tower conspiracy

Taiga: Oi, oi. Templates like that are forbidden. And are we really so out of ideas that we have to resort to this kind of gag?

Illya: Well, speaking of templates, I guess that we can talk about how these Tiger Dojos are created.

Taiga: Oooh. Fourth wall be damned huh? Ahahahaha!

Illya: It's a bit early in the story to be telling, but we've got nothing else to do really.

Taiga: Do tell, do tell then. I always like these segments.

Illya: (Since it's the only time that you actually get to show up.)

Illya: Well, the author basically gives us a keyword, and then everything is adlib.

Taiga: Ahahahahaha!

Illya: ...

Taiga: ...Wait, is that it?

Illya: That's it.

Taiga: That's shockingly simple!

Illya: I guess you could say that these Tiger Dojos are the purest form of writing: Stream of Consciousness.

Taiga: Hearing that makes me feel that what little worth I have is slipping away...

Illya: Eh? You don't seem as energetic as usual.

Taiga: No... I just saw something frightening, so I'm trying to limit my movements.

Illya: Something frightening?

Taiga: Yeah, did you see the ending to Carnival Phantasm?

Illya: No. Is it any good.

Taiga: No... rather, it was excellent. A real eye opener. That's why I'm only going to limit myself to facial expressions and one frame speaking animations!

Illya: That's physically and logically impossible. Geez, I don't really get the fuss.

Taiga: It's an adult thing. "Extravagance is the enemy!"

Illya: Somehow, that feels wrong coming from you.

Taiga: Jaa, so anything else to talk about?

Illya: Eh?

Taiga: Or are we actually ending on this kind of note?

Illya: Well, we're running out of things to adlib.

Taiga: Well, why don't you give us a preview or something.

Illya: Of what?

Taiga: I don't know, like what you always do. Something about False Advent Wars.

Illya: You do realize that was just a one time gag right?

Taiga: Gahhhhh... this Tiger Dojo's gone on long enough!

Illya: And already you're tired.

Taiga: I get tired when my ideas get shot down.

Illya: You mean idea. And don't worry, it wasn't the first.

Taiga: ...I'll beat that attitude out of you!

Illya: GAHHH! STOP SWINGING THAT SHINAI!

Taiga: MENNNNNNNNNN!

Illya: You're using too many animation frames!

Tiger stylized screen doors close.

* * *

**And thus concludes this first part. Thank you for reading.**

**On another note, Stay Knight is coming along increasingly slowly. In fact, any slower and it might as well be deleting what I've already written.**


	8. Day 5: Unapparent Bloodless World

**Not quite studying yet...**

* * *

Chapter 8: Unapparent Bloodless World

She was actually amazed at herself. Rationality was one aspect she prided herself on. In the middle of a battlefield, a calm mind was much more dangerous than any sword and through harsh experience, she can keep a level head even in the most dire of circumstances. In saying as much, the fact that she does not have her sword drawn and fighting for her life is saying something considering that her enemy was barely three feet from her.

Even more than that, she is amazed, no astounded, no dumbfounded at her Master's action. He has not only run into another Servant, but also her respective Master. He has not only failed to call for her in this time of danger, but also faced the Servant head on. He has not only not made his escape when he should have, but had the audacity to invite them over. More than that, he also made her not fight them when by all rights they should be trying to cut each other down.

Was he expecting them to sit down and enjoy a nice cup of tea? Apparently so when he is in the kitchen pouring hot water into a kettle.

Saber stares at the Servant in front of her. Her sword is not yet drawn, but will materialize in her hands the moment that the girl is perceived as a threat. She is unable to discern anything about the Servant. Her facial features and body postures are all masked, as if she was little more than a statue, and the blindfold is not helping.

She had heard of what happened from her Master when he returned home, reeking of blood. She's been on enough battlefields to recognize the smell immediately and started to check him for wounds. When she couldn't find any, he explained what had transpired.

Rider was the one that attacked him and Rider was the Servant of Matou Sakura; the quiet girl who was sleeping in the same room as her just yesternight. She watches the girl out of the corner of her eye, always keeping the Servant in her sight.

Sakura is not looking at her, instead focusing on the wood-grain of the table. She can't blame her. Finding out that her friend was a Master and that they may have to fight to the death would be shocking for anyone, especially one as soft spoken as her. At least, that's what Saber would have thought at first.

The night before, when everyone was asleep, she knew that some kind of magecraft was performed on her. All variables aside, the most probable culprits were either Sakura or Fujimura. With this revelation, that means that Sakura was already a Master and was scouting her out because she at least had her suspicions.

But it seems that Sakura and Shirou knew each other for years now, so the factor that changed everything would have been herself. But that does not change the circumstances in the slightest. She was her Master's sword and if this girl and her Servant were to stand in their way…

"Here you go, Sakura," Shirou says as he places a cup of tea in front of the girl.

"Thanks, Senpai."

"Here's yours Saber. And would you like some as well, Rider?" he casually asks the Servant.

Slam!

"Shirou, I cannot accept your actions towards our opponents!" Saber shouts as she slams her hand on the table.

Sakura does not move, but Rider twitches. Her hands form an imaginary grip around her nonexistent weapon. The moment that Saber makes a move, Rider will respond likewise.

"Calm down, Saber," Shirou commands. "I invited them over, so it's only natural that I serve them tea."

"And another thing, why did you invite them over in the first place? I can understand if you were ambushed, but you were lucky enough to escape. So why are you letting our enemies into your house as if it was nothing?"

"Well- I don't want to be enemies with Sakura if I can avoid it. So I thought we could talk it over."

"T…talk it… over…" Saber says shakily. Truly, the ignorance of her Master knows no bounds.

"As much as I appreciate this Senpai," Sakura speaks up. "I can see and agree with what Saber-san is saying."

"Are you saying that we have to fight to the death?"

"…If it comes to that, then we may have to," Sakura speaks sadly.

Shirou sighs as he takes a sip from his own cup. "Is there no other way? You seem to know a lot more about this war than I do, so is there another way where we won't have to fight?"

Sakura shakes her head. "I'm sorry Senpai, but there isn't. The war for the Holy Grail is one that is bathed in blood. In the previous war, a Master who ran away from every fight but made it to the end tried to touch the Grail and it rejected him."

"Kotomine…" Shirou recalls from his talk with the priest.

Sakura tilts her head at his answer. But he was right. Kotomine Kirei was one of the Masters of the last war and he was the one responsible for what happened at the end. No… there was someone else. Kotomine was merely the catalyst that set the final events of the 4th war in motion. Someone else entirely was responsible for the disaster that transpired.

Regardless, it still means that eventually Shirou and Sakura must face each other. It was an inevitable truth.

"Then a question, Sakura. What's your wish?"

"Eh?"

"Saber told me that Servants and Masters work together so that they can get their wishes granted by the Holy Grail. I want to know what kind of wish you have."

"Erm-. I can't really tell you, but… it's a really selfish wish."

"Hmm…"

"I know… I know that it's wrong for me to be like this, but… this is one wish that I have to make come true," Sakura states determinedly.

"I know you wouldn't wish for anything bad, so I'm kinda relieved actually…" Shirou says as he rubs the back of his head.

"Shirou?" Saber exclaims. "Did you not state that you will assist me in claiming the Grail?"

"And I am still of that mindset," Shirou states simply as he looks at her. "I fully aim to win this war but I'm glad to know that there is someone like Sakura who won't use it for bad things if she wins."

"Why are you speaking as if we will lose?" Saber questions coolly.

"Huh?"

"I've already told you before, Master." She crosses her arms. "I am your sword and if there is no road to victory, then I shall simply cut one for you. No. Matter. What."

"Be that as it may, I don't want you to kill the other Masters."

"…Do you still think the same way about Berserker and his Master?"

"…"

"Ano… Berserker and his Master?" Sakura asks quietly.

"Yes, we've already ran into him once and though we escaped, it was not unscathed," Saber replies.

"You mean you fought against Berserker head on and came out of it alive?" Rider half-asks half-whispers in shock.

"Yes. At that time, we had thought Archer to be our ally, but he turned traitorous and tried to kill both of us while we were locked in combat."

"Indeed, that would match up with what I saw," Rider whispers again.

"You were watching?"

"Yes, Sakura's grandfather had felt some kind of commotion occurring and I was sent to scout. I saw you fighting with Berserker and I saw an attack from a distance. At the time, I had thought that you were that other girl's Servant."

"Ah- you mean Tohsaka Rin."

At that Sakura tenses. But Rider's next statement shook her out of her thought.

"I'm surprised though. I thought you'd never walk again seeing that rock in your back, but you're actually pretty lively right now," Rider focuses on Shirou.

"What are you talking about Rider?" Sakura quickly asks.

"Oh-? I must have left that out in my report. I apologize. I thought Berserker's identity was more pertinent at the time. In the fight, Saber's Master tried to protect her when Archer fired his Broken Phantasm. When the graveyard was destroyed, a rather large piece of stone embedded itself in Saber's Master's back."

"Eh? A-are you okay Senpai?" Sakura quickly motions to make sure he's free of wounds.

"Don't worry Sakura, it was a light wound. It healed up overnight. I'm perfectly fine now."

"I disagree," Saber states simply. "First of all, that wound was not minor. It was quite deep and the stone intersected with a large portion of your spine. Secondly, you are not 'perfectly fine' if you're rushing headfirst into a dangerous situation like that."

"But if I hadn't you wouldn't be here right now."

"Irrelevant."

Their bickering fell deaf on Sakura's ears. Her mind is already in motion. First and foremost, she wanted to avoid fighting her Senpai at all cost. Not only from a relationship point of view, but also that in a head on fight Saber would no doubt have the advantage. If she managed to hold off Berserker, the hero Hercules, then Rider would never win. Rider may put up a good fight, maybe even weaken or kill Saber, but it will be at a heavy cost. Again, this is only under the circumstances that they must fight. If they didn't have to fight, or better yet, if they worked together, then perhaps even Tohsaka Rin might fall.

"Anyways," Shirou breaks the conversation with Saber to address Sakura. "I was wondering if we could call a truce between ourselves. I don't really want to fight you."

Sakura mulls over his words. Yes, not fighting between themselves is the clear choice here.

"Well, if we worked together I would have more peace of mind."

She suddenly perks up at that.

"Shirou!" Saber exclaims.

"Think about it logically Saber. There weren't any rules about working together and I think that Sakura is a much more competent Master than I am. From our standpoint, we actually benefit from this more than they do," Shirou explains calmly.

Saber folds her arms with a frown. "They can still stab us in the back," she grumbles.

"I would never do that to Senpai!" Sakura shouts.

Saber levels an eye at her. "Even at the cost of Grail?"

Sakura pauses. It might have only been for a microsecond, but it was still far too long.

So all she could do is lower her head.

"Saber," Shirou calls on her quietly.

Saber merely raises an arm to stop him. "I suppose that there is some merit in that answer. If you don't desire the Grail enough, then I suppose that you wouldn't give it your all." She turns to face her Master. "Are you serious on allying with Sakura and Rider?"

"Yes," Shirou answers with a nod.

"Fine," Saber states with final acceptance in her voice. "I must respect your decisions as a Servant, and I suppose that it'll hardly make a difference in the end."

"Be careful that you don't get stabbed at night," Rider warns with a smirk.

"Oh? I'll return the sentiments then," Saber replies smugly.

Their relationship is off to a rocky start, but that's fine. It wouldn't be good to become friends with someone who you will have to defeat eventually. But until that time, there's nothing wrong with bantering.

Interlude 

After earning Saber's trust enough that Rider wouldn't kill her Master, Saber went to take her bath while Rider explored the house. That left Sakura and Shirou alone to talk to each other.

"What do you think about all of this?" Shirou asks as they walk onto the veranda and look at the night sky.

"I…" she hesitates. She didn't like the fighting, that was true enough. But for the sake of that wish, she would. She loathes the war that pitted her with her Senpai. That pitted her with her sister. But… in the end, she still feels the need to see it through. "I don't want to have to fight… but I must."

Shirou grins. "Because of your wish right?"

She nods solemnly.

"Well, that's okay. You should do what you think is right."

"But… what if what I'm doing is wrong?" she asks quietly.

"Hmm?" He thinks.

"What if what I do hurts others?" She turns to look at him. "Would you get angry, Senpai?"

"Hmm," he thnks. "Yeah. Yeah, I would get angry. I'd probably get angrier faster than anyone."

"Is that so?" she smiles a little. Yes, her Senpai would definitely be angry with her. That's how he should be.

"But I would also forgive you," he adds. "And I would bring you back again."

She stares wide-eye at him. The shock at his words eventually gives way and she smiles softly at him. "Then a promise, Senpai? That if you see me doing something wrong, then please stop me."

He smiles back at her. "Okay, if you'll do the same to me."

"But Senpai would never do something wrong."

He shrugs. "Who knows? Maybe by doing something right, I'll end up doing the wrong thing. So let's look out for each other."

She thinks it over in her head. She extends a pinky. "Pinky promise then."

He chuckles, but extend his anyways. They link pinkies and shake their hands up and down for affirmation.

"We'd better get inside before we get cold," he says as he turns to walk back inside.

"Okay," she agrees and walks towards the house. "Thank you Senpai," she whispers to herself. "I really don't want to lose myself."

End Interlude

Saber meditates in the dojo. After her bath, she likes to meditate before bed. It helps calm her mind and focus her thoughts. While she could meditate in her own room, the dojo inspires a serene grace of its own.

Her thoughts travel to her Master. Emiya Shirou. He is definitely too trusting. In fact, one could call him the opposite of Emiya Kiritsugu. The 4th war Master was untrusting of everyone, including his own Servant.

She slowly opens her eyes. If her thoughts have started trailing, no, rather if she is starting to have thoughts at all, then it is time to stop meditating and go to bed. She turns the lights off and locks the dojo's door behind her.

The moon is a beautiful pearly gibbous. It's pale light casts dark shadows across the expansive lawn in front of her. It is still too early in the year for insects, so an eerie silence covers the field. It is calming and empty.

"Do you have something to say to me?" she asks, breaking the silence.

Rider is above her, perched on the roof of the dojo. She had sensed her already from inside the dojo during her meditation. This is partially the reason why she decided to end her meditation early.

"Very perceptive," Rider smirks in the darkness from her perch. "I'm just observing the boundary around the house. It is very well made."

Saber smirks at that. "It is, isn't it?" she asks fondly, as if reminiscing. "So, what did you want to ask me? I'm quite sure that you needn't be on the roof to check out a boundary."

Rider jumps and lands a fair distance away from Saber. Even if they are allies, they can never be too careful. At a moment's notice, they may need to take the other's life.

"Well, I did want to ask you what your wish is, if it is not too forward."

Saber frowns at Rider. "I have not yet even told my Master, why should I tell you?"

"You either? Well, I don't care regardless. All that matters to me is that Sakura's wish comes true."

"Then why even ask me?" Saber asks exasperatedly. "And what about your own wish?"

"Oh I don't have one," Rider answers nonchalantly.

Saber gapes at her in shock. "You… don't… have… one?" she asks slowly.

"That's right."

Saber just shakes her head. "You and Shirou," she mutters.

"What's that?"

"Both you and my Master seems to be fighting for nothing at all. Neither of you have a wish yet you're willing to put your lives on the line to grant the wish of someone else."

Rider smiles at that. "He seems like someone I can agree with."

Saber simply shakes her head ruefully. "I'm going to bed."

At the moment, they can trust each other. But underneath their bantering they must never forget that they are Servants who will battle to the death.

**2/5**

The next day starts with breakfast, as it does every other day. Saber wakes early to sound of gently rustling leaves near her window. She quickly washes her face and prepares for the day by heading straight to the dining table where her Master dutifully sets the food.

Or rather, her Master does so while wearing a dissatisfied look on his face. She hears humming in the kitchen and finds Sakura happily cooking while wearing an apron. Rider sits nonchalantly at the table as if she has been sitting there all her life.

A strange sight even for Saber, and she has seen some strange views before in her life.

"Good morning," she greets them regardless. They are allies now, and ally or not, everyone at least deserves their due respect.

"Ah, good morning Saber," her Master responds with a smile.

"I'll be up there shortly," Sakura calls from the kitchen.

Rider stays silent, but gives her a nod to acknowledge her salutation.

Shirou makes several trips back and forth to the kitchen to set up everything and Sakura eventually focuses her attention away from the stove to dishes that are taken to the dining table.

Breakfast is simple, but delicious. Sakura shows off her skills in Western dishes as they eat toast and scrambled eggs. It is a different taste from the usual Japanese dishes that Shirou specializes in, but it has its own charms. Saber feels a little more than a bit nostalgic at the taste and comfort eating something that traditionally had its roots in the Western hemisphere.

While she is finishing her third slice of bread, Rider has barely touched her own plate. Half of her bread is uneaten and she is simply pushing her scrambled eggs around with her fork.

"Is it not to your liking?" Sakura asks, having noticed as well.

"No," Rider answers quickly and succinctly.

Saber finishes her food and closes her eyes. "Still full from yesterday?"

Rider does not answer but turns her head away and looks towards the kitchen as if to avoid eye contact.

The question did not need to be answered nor did it need to be clarified. Everyone knew what Saber is asking.

As if in sync with their topic, the news on the TV began to report about the bounded field at the school. Of course, it's not reported that a bounded field had drained the life force of the victims, but as a potential connection to the recent gas leaks that has occurred. Another possibility suggested was some reason for mass fatigue.

More than 220 victims totaled, students and faculty members alike. Shirou visibly tenses as he is reminded of yesterday's events. Among the victims is one of his closest friend and confidant, Fujimura Taiga. She is not sitting at the table, dining and laughing as usual because she too was caught up in the incident.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

"I'll get it," Sakura offers as she stands up to get the ringing phone.

Her distant voice drifts over the quiet table.

"-Eh? Fujimura-sensei? …. …. …. Yes. … … Yes, I understand. … Okay. …. …. …. Good luck, Fujimura-sensei."

Shirou watches her seriously as she walks back to the dining table. Her face is calm and unassuming.

"Fujimura-sensei is still in the hospital," Sakura explains.

Shirou grimaces. "Don't tell me she's…" he trails off.

Sakura nods once in understanding. "Yes, she is visiting every student there."

"Figures," Shirou sighs.

"She also said that school is closed until further notice and as thanks for her intel, Senpai should prepare yosenabe for when she gets back."

"There's something wrong with that line of logic," Shirou sighs again. The tension has left the room now. "Well, that means that Fuji-nee is fine then."

"Were you worried, Senpai?" Sakura asks.

"Not really. I figured that it'd take a tank or something to bring down Fuji-nee," Shirou admits as he rubs the back of his head nonchalantly.

"School is closed, though I guess that much is obvious," Sakura states as she clears the table.

"Should we talk about what to do next then?" Saber questions. Solemn nods from everyone signal their agreement with her.

"First, I guess we should share what we already know," Saber begins once everyone is seated at the table again. She takes a sip from her tea. "I'm Servant Saber and my Master is Shirou."

"Saber, I think we already know this," Shirou states the redundancy.

"Every journey begins with the first step, trite but true. This talk will be no different."

"Very well. I am Sakua, Rider's Master," Sakura replies to Saber's statement. "Allow us to share what we already know."

"You don't have to be so formal," Shirou complains. "Even if we talking about the war, we should still-"

"Unacceptable!" Saber says as she pounds the table with her fist. The tea set rattles from the force and Shirou is stunned into silence. "Please take this more seriously, Shirou, lest you lose your head from your attitude."

Shirou grimaces from Saber's reprimands but makes no move to oppose her.

"We shall share what we know as well, though it may not be much," Saber offers as she looks back to Sakura. Rider does not look that interested and her own Master is lacking in mindset it appears.

"If we may start?" Saber asks. Sakura nods and allows her to continue speaking. "We know that Tohsaka Rin has summoned Archer and that the daughter of the Einzbern has summoned Berserker, which you have confirmed as Hercules, yes?"

"Yes, Rider's reconnaissance has revealed that much. Her analysis as well believe that with his sheer strength and overbearing attacks, he needs no technique. That his loss of sanity is little more than a bump in the road for him. One that he can flatten quite easily."

"I agree with that assessment. Berserker's strength is not to be underestimated. From my experience in our previous encounter, not only is he strong beyond reason, but also he moves at speeds and have agility that should not be possible for someone of his bulk. Furthermore, not one of my attacks managed to even scratch his skin."

Sakura frowns. "If you don't mind me asking, what is your strength?"

"B at best, I'm afraid," Saber states easily. Normally, such information would be classified to others, but in this case, since they are to be allies, Saber feels that she can trust them with at least this much.

"Likewise for Rider. If our attacks cannot even scratch him, then besting him in battle will be out of the question. Against Berserkers, it's almost always better to target the Master."

"Wait! We can't attack her," Shirou objects.

"Even though she has already once attacked us?" Saber asks coolly with a raised eyebrow.

"T-that's…" he trails off. What else could he say?

"Regardless, I think that attacking his Master would be useless as well," Saber concedes.

"Eh? Why?"

"Despite losing his sanity, it seems that his instincts are still sharp. He reacted in time to defend against Archer's attack. If we tried to attack his Master, there's no doubt that he will discern it before we can execute."

"Attacking that veritable mountain is impossible," Rider quips. "Perhaps it would be wise to focus our thoughts elsewhere and come back to this later."

Saber and Sakura nod in sync.

"There is one other Servant whose identity we know," Saber mentions. "Servant Lancer is Cu Chulainn."

"Ireland's Hero of Light?" Sakura asks, shocked.

Saber nods. "The one and same. His cursed spear is as fearsome as the stories tell."

Sakura grits her teeth. "Troublesome," she murmurs to herself. She breathes a sigh of relief. "Well, at least he isn't Berserker."

"Quite true," Saber agrees with her in relief.

She means it truthfully. Cu Chulainn as a Lancer is bad enough. Had he been summoned as Berserker, would he be able to make use of his warp-spasm more effectively? In their short clash, his normal strength and speed can easily outmatch any normal Servant. Add to that his attacks with his lance give him extra reach and he is a formidable opponent even with his restrictions his Master seems to have placed on him.

The only downside would be his inability to use Gae Bolg's techniques. Then again, the same with Hercules, with pure stats it is possible to transcend the need for technique.

"Rider has had a small skirmish with him earlier, but we both retreated when we could not land a decisive blow," Sakura explains. It had been a short match. Rider evaded every one of his strikes and he deflected every one of hers. It was early on and neither side wanted to reveal their hands that early, so both parties retreated.

"Then that leaves only Caster and Assassin."

"Caster must be at the Ryuudouji temple," Sakura concludes.

"Why?"

"We've determined that the cases in Shinto had to be the work of someone such as Caster and I've recently researched areas that would be suitable to draw Mana from such a distance. Of course, it would still be hard to break even with that much," Sakura trails off and thinks hard about it.

"If Caster is exceptional, then she is gaining some kind of profit and is storing up that energy for something big."

Shirou could not do much beside sit on the sideline and watch. Saber and Sakura become more and more engrossed in their discussion. Had it not been so focused on strategy and the best way to assault someone, it would have looked just like two girls getting together and gossiping.

Shaking his head, Shirou decides that lunch is nearing and Sakura seems too preoccupied. So this is his chance to sneak out and get something to make lunch, and to get away from all this talk about Masters and Servants.

Interlude

He had tried to escape from his house to get away from talks about Masters and Servants. So why is he talking to one now?

"Ne ne ne! Onii-chan, what's this?"

In front of him, bouncing along the paved street without a care in the world, is Illyasviel von Einzbern, Master of Berserker, and self-proclaimed little sister.

"Onii-chan, if you don't hurry up then you'll be left behind!" she pouts as she stops mid-twirl to look back at him.

While shopping for groceries, he had noticed a silvery flutter in his peripheral. Had he ignored it, he may have managed to escape from this disaster. Unfortunately, he had not. Now he is paying the consequences.

"I'll sic Berserker on you if you don't play with me," her voice echoes in his head. She said that when he tried to refuse. Masters are magi and are not supposed to act out in public, but Illaysviel does not strike him as reasonable as Tohsaka.

"What's this?" she calls out again as he nears. His eyes follow her finger to see it pointing at a slide.

"That's a slide," he points out. Not much else he could say.

"Eh-?" she looks at it in awe. "What do you do with it?"

"Err… well… you slide?"

"Show me! Show me!" she cries eagerly.

Just how sheltered is she if she doesn't even know what a slide is?

"That's… um…" he wracks his brain for an excuse.

She simply tilts her head and smiles cutely.

"You sit on the top, and you slide down," he explains lamely.

"Like this?" she asks as she climbs up the ladder. Holding the small rails to keep herself steady, she carefully sits at the top of the slide.

"Cold!" she yelps. Accidentally letting go, she slides the rest of the way down.

"Are you okay?" he half-shouts as he runs to the base of the slide.

She glares at him. "You didn't tell me it was cold!" she accuses him.

"S-sorry," he quickly apologizes. Technically, he didn't do anything wrong, but he feels it would be unwise to provoke this girl.

"Hmm," she pouts. "Well, I'll let you off this time since I like you Onii-chan."

"Eh?"

She stands up and shivers a bit. She seems cold despite wearing the thick purple coat.

"Wait here for a bit okay?" he says as he sets down his groceries and runs to a nearby vending machine. After sliding in some coins, he hits the button for warm coffee twice. Two cans roll out the bottom and he collects both.

"Here, it's warm coffee," he offers the girl.

"Eh?" she reaches out and accepts the can. She looks at it a bit and looks back at him. He opens his can and takes a drink. He looks back down at her.

Trying to mimic his actions, she fumbles with the pop-tab. It opens and she smells the strong fragrance of cacao. A small sip.

"Ack!" she chokes from the bitter taste.

"Sorry," Shirou apologizes again. "I should have chosen something sweeter."

After forcibly swallowing several times to rid her mouth of the taste, she looks back up at him. "I-it's okay. Sella always says, 'It's the thought that counts,' or something like that," she quickly explains. Even though she didn't like the drink, it was true that she appreciated his gesture.

"Sella? Is she your guardian?"

"She's a maid," Illyasviel begins her explanation, but her eyes quickly widen. "Ah! I have to get back!"

"Hmm?"

The white hair girl is already at the edge of the park. "I have to get home before they find out!"

"About what?" Shirou calls to her.

"That I left without permission!"

"Oh… err… would you like me to escort you back?" he offers.

She looks at him strangely. "Onii-chan, you haven't forgotten that we're enemies right?

She hasn't forgotten that they are on opposite sides.

"W-well, do we have to be enemies?" he tries to defuse the situation.

"Hmm…" she stares down at the ground as she clutches her hands. "Can I win without killing Onii-chan?" she mutters, deep in thought. She looks up at him with a calculating look. "I'll try to convince Sella that you're not an enemy then." With that she rushes off.

"I'll get Lyseritt to help!" her fading voice drifts in the wind.

He looks at where the girl, where Illyasviel had just been standing just minutes ago. When they first met up, he was shocked and never would have thought that they would spend an entire afternoon talking. It also doesn't seem that she's that eager to fight him. Well, her mind is filled with childish curiosities, which ran from one question to the next. He is quite sure that he didn't register as a person when he was with her today as much as an information dispenser.

Well, it was a fun afternoon.

He freezes.

A fun afternoon.

He looks over at the groceries.

Afternoon.

Sweeping the bags up in one motion, he prays as he runs.

'I really don't want to die.'

End Interlude

While Shirou went to get the materials for their lunch and dinner, the girls decide to continue their talk. Eventually deciding that the day is too nice to spend indoors talking, they take their talk outdoors to the yard.

Aside from the change in atmosphere for the better, something else good also arose. Saber details Lancer's movements and Sakura proves to be able to analyze his starting speed. Their movements eventually take them to the warehouse where Saber is first summoned.

"Ah, Senpai usually puts old tools and discarded pieces in here. He likes to tinker with them," Sakura explains as they explore the shed.

She turns to see Saber's eyes narrow. "Something wrong Saber?"

"Sakura, can you tell me about this?" Saber gestures towards an old teakettle.

"An old teakettle?" Sakura approaches not seeing anything. It is just like a teakettle, the kind anyone can buy in any store. As she nears it, she senses something.

"Hmm?" She extends her hand towards it. "I-impossible!"

"Something wrong?" Saber questions.

Sakura turns sharply to Saber. "When did you see Senpai last in here?"

"Not since the night he summoned me," Saber answers truthfully. "And even then, it was because Lancer had forced him to retreat this far."

Sakura's head snaps back to the teakettle so fast Saber is scared that she might suffer from whiplash.

"Are you okay, Sakura?"

"Impossible," Sakura mutters again.

"What is?" Saber asks, concerned for the girl.

Slowly, Sakura turns to face Saber. "Saber can you tell if there's anything wrong with this teakettle?"

"Hmm?" Saber picks up the kettle and looks at it closely. "I'm cannot tell if anything is wrong with it. But I do sense some residue Prana."

Sakura frowns. "Yes, but I wonder…"

Saber tilts her head and looks back at the kettle in her hand.

"Saber, can you crush it?"

"Huh?"

"Please, there's something I want to see."

"Err… very well," Saber says as she closes her fingers around the body of the kettle. It is bigger than her hand, but she finds a comfortable grip.

Applying pressure, the metal easily buckles under her strength and the shed echoes with the quiet groaning of crumpling tin.

Saber does not see what this accomplish.

"Hmm?"

A brief flash of light and the metal in her hand is no longer there.

"W-what just happened?" Saber asks shocked.

"Gmph," Sakura grits noncommittally.

Saber does not move but stares at Sakura for an explanation.

Sakura senses this and looks over at Saber. Realizing that the other girl is not going to let her go without speaking, she takes a deep breath.

"Saber, do you know of Gradation Air?"

"No," Saber answers truthfully. "Is it a form of magecraft?"

"Yes. It is a simple concept, more commonly known as Projection. Basically, a magus takes his Prana and shapes it into an object."

"Ah, that I know of."

"But because the object is not real, the World constantly tries to correct the anomaly by reverting it back to Prana. An object created by a skilled magus with a large amount of Prana would only last a few hours at best."

"But this-!" Realization dawns on Saber.

"Yes, the fact that the kettle dispersed proves it was created by Gradation Air. And for it to have lasted this long…"

Saber turns her head to the open door.

"Speaking of which, where is Shirou?"

"Senpai? He went out to get groceries, right?"

"That was hours ago, he should have been back by now," Saber says. Before her sentence is even complete, she is already outside.

"Rider will help as well," Sakura states as she exits. "Rider!"

"That will be unnecessary," Rider claims from above the roof.

"What makes you say that?" Saber questions sharply.

"Because he is already home," Rider observes from her perch.

Saber jumps and land next to the violet hair Servant. True to her words, she sees Shirou rushing to through the door.

It would seem that she would have to have some choice words with him.

"So," Saber looks at her Master coolly. "Have you anything to say for yourself?"

"Um… well…" Shirou looks around the room for something, anything, to help.

"I would like to know as well, Senpai," Sakura states with a serious look in her eyes. She is not a condemning as Saber, but it seems she is just as interested.

"I went shopping," he starts.

"Which should not have taken this long," Saber counters.

"And then I ran into Illya."

The entire room freezes. Quite literally, as Shirou can feel icicles staring to form from his sweat on the nape of his neck.

"Illya?" Sakura asks shakily.

"Yeah… err… Berserker's Master."

Thinking back, maybe he should not have mentioned that fact.

"You met with Berserker's Master." Saber repeats. "You met with Berserker's Master and you did not see fit to summon me, nor to run away."

"It was during the middle of the day, and she said that she had no intention of fighting me then," Shirou tries to explain.

"You met with Berserker's Master, did not see fit to summon me, nor run away, but saw to it that you accompanied her for half a day by yourself making idle chatter and leaving yourself wide open to attacks not only from her but from other potential threats."

Her gaze hurts.

In fact, her gaze and that of Sakura's and Rider's hurt.

"In so many words… yes." How she had figured that out without him saying anything is beyond his mortal comprehension.

Saber opens her mouth to speak, but Sakura beats her to it.

"Senpai! Please take more care in the future. Berserker and his Master has already tried to kill you before!" she chides him.

"H-hai."

She takes a breath to calm herself. "More than that, we have something else to discuss."

Shirou looks at them confused.

"Do you know how to perform Gradation Air?" Saber asks. She realizes that Sakura has quickly ended their lecture to focus on the more important issue. Chastising her Master for his foolishness can come later.

"What's that?"

She and Sakura stare wide-eye at him.

"Is it possible that he doesn't even know what he's doing?" Saber whispers, half to herself, half to Sakura, and half to no one in particular.

"Um… Projection, Senpai," Sakura clarifies for him. "From what Saber has told me of the night you met, you fended off Lancer's attacks with a metal poster yes? That was Reinforcement?"

"That? Well, yeah, it was Reinforcement," he answers calmly, not understanding the weight of his words. "I'm pretty bad at it though. I'm a bit better at Projection."

If the temperature could have dropped further, it would have as Sakura just stares at him without breathing.

"Err… Sakura?" Shirou asks out of concern. Even Saber and Rider look over concerned at the other girl. "Breathing is kind of important."

"Senpai," she whispers slowly.

"Yes?"

"Please don't ever say that in front of Tohsaka-senpai if you value your life," she tells him straight.

"Uh… okay?"

Sakura takes another breath to calm herself.

"Please explain your words, Sakura," Saber asks. She understands more or less everything up until the point when Tohsaka was mentioned. What would Archer's Master have to do with this, she doesn't understand. Yes, Tohsaka Rin would be after Shirou's life, but over a sentence?

"You understand the basis of Reinforcement, yes Senpai?"

"Sure," Shirou answers warily. "You use your Prana and push the basis of existence further. Like making a blade sharper or more durable. Well, that's way beyond what I can do," he finishes by rubbing the back of his head embarrassingly.

"Eh?" Both Sakura and Saber look at him in shock.

"Um, I can't properly Reinforce something. It will work maybe one out of fifty times without the object breaking, and that's if I can get it to start at all."

The basis of Reinforcement is exactly as Shirou has stated. It is the emphasis of the basis of existence, the enhancement of a purpose. A moderately difficult technique but an elementary one; one that any magus worth anything should be able to accomplish. To use it, one must have an understanding of the internal structures of the object. That in itself is already hard enough, considering that every object is different so someone who could reliably reinforce multiple different objects are rare.

The second problem arises when sending in Prana to elevate the object. Done too quickly or applying too much Prana would overload the object and simply cause it to break. Like adding something to the perfect dish, fail and the new ingredient will become poison.

The third issue is simply efficiency. Most of the time, items are only created like this when they are one time use for a ritual or some other manner to be discarded. There is no point in making something that wouldn't last. Also, the amount of Prana necessary to make an object can be used much more effectively by enhancing a resembling object.

For instance, imagine a knife than can be created with ten units of Prana that has a power of four. Those ten units of Prana could be used to Reinforce a knife that already has a power of four to fifty. The difference is incomparable in every way.

"But what if I make a knife with a power of sixty with those ten units?"

It goes unsaid that if it were possible, then more people would do it. If making the knife were simpler than reinforcing one, then everyone would do it.

"But isn't it easier to make the knife at its best, rather than trying to force it to its peak?"

Any blade is at its best before it is ever swung. Every honing of the blade afterwards wears away at it. Every attempt repair it will further it from its origin.

"Senpai, can you show me how you Project?"

"I can't," Shirou rubs the back of his head again. When Sakura wilts at his answer, he quickly follows it up. "It's not that I don't want to, it's just that it takes a while and I'm not even sure if I'll succeed."

Sakura stays silent before her eyes lighting up in understanding. "Yes, yes I quite agree. Senpai shouldn't force himself to do something like that."

Shirou looks at her strangely, not quite understanding.

They left things as it is. Shirou doesn't seem to know anything about what he's doing and he doesn't even appear to know what's wrong with making something that is clearly bypassing the laws of reality.

He can't answer it if he doesn't know about it, and if he doesn't know about it, then there's no way for them to ask him about it.

Saber shakes her head ruefully as she exits the bath. If her Master is able to show some skill in magecraft, then maybe he could be more effective in the war. Even if he cannot hold his own against a Servant or even that of another Master, he would be able to hold out long enough for her to arrive.

Heading to her room next to Shirou's, since she would not accept being any further and this is considerably far enough, she hears voices.

"Hey Sakura, you've been a magus way longer than I was right?"

"More or less all my life."

"Ah, I see. I'm sorry for being such a novice and dragging you down."

"It's nothing. Besides, Senpai only started about half a year ago, right?"

"Not really. Was that when you noticed it?"

"Y-yes. I forgot something here so I came back to get it, but I heard something in the shed, so I went to check it out and I saw…"

"Ah, well, that's okay. Sorry that you had to see something so embarrassing though, my stupid training process."

Sakura's voice stops.

"Please don't say that, Senpai."

"Hmm?"

"Please don't say that it was stupid. Something that dangerous should never be taken that lightly, even if you don't know it."

"Well, I guess it could be dangerous, especially since I didn't know what I was doing, but a life of a magus is like that, right? That a magus always walks on the line of life and death everyday."

"That may be. My training has always been dark and painful, and I don't know how you've been training, Senpai. But I do know one thing. In every measure, my training has always been controlled so that death was never an option."

"Sakura-?"

"I-I saw it from afar, so I don't know the details, but I saw that you were in immense pain. What I saw wasn't natural, Senpai. What I saw wasn't something that should attempted by anyone…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…I'm sorry for saying something like that," Sakura says in little more than a whisper.

"D-don't worry about it."

"I'll be going to bed now. Good night, Senpai."

The sound of footsteps passes Saber as Sakura heads to her room. Shirou heads to his own room shortly. Neither noticed the Servant who heard their entire conversation.

Saber looks hard in the direction of Sakura's room and faces her Master's room. Without a word, she heads to her room.

Interlude

**Thirteen Months Ago**

"This is not the first time that we've met, is it?"

"No. I thank you, Father, for taking the time to speak with me."

"Not at all. I should think though that you have something you would like to say to me? After all, on this holy night one should spend time with one's family."

"It is as you say. But I would like to ask for advice."

"Oh? Merely ask and you shall receive. Though, I do not know if you will like the answer."

"That's fine. Father, I have witnessed a close friend doing something dangerous, but I have not stopped him."

"…"

"I suppose that this is more of a confession of sin."

"There is something else isn't there?"

"Eh?"

"Something else that you are hiding. Well, I won't force you if you don't want to say it. Everyone has secrets that they keep."

"… You are right. I know that this has been going on for more than a year now. Each time I see it, I know that what he is doing is wrong and dangerous, but I have not once tried to stop him."

"Not that I would like to presume, but you would like to know how to ask him to stop?"

"Eh? Well, yes. That would be very helpful."

"Then I would suggest telling him, 'Stop.'"

"Stop?"

"Yes, I believe that would suffice. Long words and drawn out actions are meaningless. Something so simple would be hard to misinterpret."

"…"

"Do you not like the answer? I had warned you before."

"That's not it. Thank you, Father, for your advice. Yes, I think that telling him to stop would be a good idea. Thank you."

"Allow me to escort you to the door."

"Thank you again, and have a happy new year."

The strange duo stands on opposite sides of the threshold.

"Ah yes, before I forget. Be sure to tell him that only if you truly wish for him to stop. It would be a far greater sin otherwise."

With that the great wooden doors close.

End Interlude

Cool breeze.

It was past midnight when her Master knocked softly on her door. She was already awake, waiting for him.

Silent stillness.

And so here they are, patrolling the streets of Fuyuki.

Saber keeps her Master in close view. Her senses stretch and searches for anything unnatural or suspicious. No attack will be allowed to harm her Master and no trail will be left concealed.

She turns to look at her Master.

Despite asking her to join him on patrol, he wears a countenance that betrays his mind. If she had to place a word, it would be distracted. If so, then he should not be here.

"Shirou, are you sure you want to patrol tonight?"

"Eh? Ah, yeah. After what Sakura has told us about Caster, I got kind of worried."

"And so you want to go to Ryuudouji?"

"Yes."

"Very well, Master. Let us hurry."

Quiet stony steps lead up the mountain. They pause at the gate and Saber hears the soft rustling of leaves. True to Sakura's words, a barrier is erected in around the mountain. The only area left open is the front gate.

"I will go first, Master. You will stay here and wait for my return."

"No. I'm coming along with you," Shirou replies.

"Master, if there is a trap, it would be simpler for me to escape alone. You will only be a burden in such a situation," Saber retorts simply. It may sound harsh, but it is true.

Without waiting for her Master to respond, she rushes up the stairs. Her hands trail behind her, gripping tightly her sword. She is ready to defend at a moment's notice.

But shockingly, she did not have to.

"Wha?"

Saber's mind freezes at the scene in front of her.

"Saber?" her Master's voice calls out from behind her.

He must have rushed up the steps as well after her. But she does not respond. Her eyes are glued to the carnage in front of her.

"Sabe-?" her Master freezes as well.

Before them lies the wreckage of the Ryuudouji Temple.

Breaking free of their stupor, they cautiously walk through the temple grounds. Massive gashes carve out the earth and walls while blacken scorch marks litter the landscape. It is no longer a temple, more of a ruin.

More than that, there is no sign of human presence.

What has happened to the monks? What has happened to Caster who is supposedly here? What could have caused this much damage? And without anyone finding out?

"What happened here?" Shirou asks no one in particular.

There is no one. Not even a drop of blood to indicate that anyone was ever here.

In the end, she and her Master return. There is nothing else to do. Ryuudouji Temple is nothing more than a burned out husk now and Caster is gone.

Interlude

"Ojou-sama, please tell me that you are joking," Sella voices her objections.

"I'm not," comes the curt reply.

"Why do you wish to ally with that boy? Have you forgotten your duties as the daughter of Einzbern?"

"Calm down, Sella. I am sure that Illya has her own reasons for doing so."

"Right."

"And I would like to know what those reasons are. Lyseritt, do not forget our own duties as well. We are here to guide and support Ojou-sama's victory."

"But what does that have to do with me joining Onii-chan?"

"Ojou-sama, why would you want to join your enemy? You will crush everyone in this war, yes? You have said it yourself when we arrived."

"Hmph, I'll have you know that I plan on winning without crushing Onii-chan. After all, I can't have him if he's dead right?"

"You see Sella? Illya likes the Emiya boy and wants to keep him alive. So that's why she wants to join with him."

"But still-!"

"Think of it from another perspective. That Emiya boy has summoned Servant Saber. Combined with Berserker, do you honestly see Illya losing?"

"Not that I've doubted her from the start, but I do see your point," Sella relents. "But still, there's nothing to say that he will not betray us like his father did!"

*Snap*

"F-forgive my impertinence, Ojou-sama," Sella quickly apologize.

"He won't be like that," Illya mutters. "He won't be like that, he won't be like that, he won't be like that, he won't be like that, he won't be like that, he won't be like that, he won't be like that, he won't be like that, he won't be like that, he won't be like that, he won't be like that, he won't be like that, he won't be like that, he won't be like that, he won't be like that."

"I think you broke her, Sella," Lyseritt whispers to her sister.

"A-ano, Ojou-sama…"

Illya abruptly stops and takes a breath.

"Sella, Lyseritt. I only have to win this war for the Einzbern. That is the only condition for me. How I do it is up to my discretion entirely, understood?"

Both maids nod solemnly at her steely tone.

"Sella, regarding what I asked you earlier?"

"Yes, Ojou-sama." No longer is the banter between her and her Mistress present. When Illyasviel von Einzbern talks in this manner, it means that playtime is over and she is getting serious.

"There are at least three instances of a summoning that deviates from the predicted variables."

"Three?" Illya's shock comes through her steel façade.

"Yes. One of which occurred last night."

"Hmm…"

"One more thing."

"What is it?"

"I am sure that you are already aware, but Servant Assassin is no more."

"What?"

At this, Illya, Lyseritt, and Sella all freeze.

Was it even possible for such an outcome to have slipped by Illyasviel von Einzbern? Inconceivable.

And yet somehow, it did.

"Ojou-sama, were you unaware?" Sella asks slowly.

"Impossible," Illya mutters as she bites her thumb. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Using the Spirit Board, I have confirmed that the Servant Assassin summoned has been defeated. But you should have realized this Ojou-sama?"

"I didn't and that's the problem!" She is biting her thumb hard enough to draw blood.

Illya stands up abruptly and walks to the door.

"Sella, Lyseritt, I want you both to look into this matter. Find out exactly what happened and report."

"Yes."

With that, the maids set out to perform their appointed duties while the daughter of winter heads to her room.

Something is wrong with this war. Something strange is occurring.

And waiting around is not an option.

End Interlude

* * *

Tiger Dojo

Tiger stylized screen doors open to a dojo.

Taiga: Set! Start! Match!

Illya: There's something wrong with that order, Sensei!

Taiga: ZERO POINTS!

Illya: Mou... let's start correctly this time.

Taiga: Good day everyone!

Illya: Welcome to the Tiger Dojo.

Taiga: You know, the last couple dojos didn't really focus on the story at all.

Illya: We've been getting off track.

Taiga: Jaa, so shall we start today correctly?

Illya: Hai! So what did you think of this chapter?

Taiga: Hmm... it felt kinda different? Pacing still seems weird.

Illya: No more making excuses! So what was different?

Taiga: I don't know. The point of view seemed to shift to Saber's.

Illya: Yep, since this is a new arc, there's a shift in the character lineup.

Illya: Well, Sakura is still central to the plot, that much isn't about to change.

Taiga: I don't know how I should feel about that.

Illya: Don't worry Taiga. You were never really considered for it.

Taiga: Wahahahaha! It almost sounded as if you were considered!

Illya: I was.

Taiga: ...

Illya: Before you start swinging Torashinai again, I was among the first to be dropped.

Taiga: Well that makes me feel better again.

Illya: Speaking of characters that were considered, I haven't seen Senpai in a while.

Taiga: Who? ... Oh, Tohsaka!

Illya: Did the author just forgot she existed or something?

Taiga: Hmm... usually at this time, Tohsaka is the one to provide the exposition.

Illya: Sakura did an okay job, but she's no Rin!

Taiga: I thought Sakura explained Shirou's magic well enough.

Illya: It's magecraft. There is a difference you know.

Taiga: Whatever. The point is, even I could understand it.

Illya: Did you really?

Taiga: Yeah. It means that Shirou is really simple minded isn't he?

Illya: Well, can't argue with you on that point.

Taiga: So let's end this dojo on a simple note to celebrate the new arc.

Illya: Bye!

Tiger stylized screen doors close.


	9. Day 6: Unforgotten Beckoning Warning

**Studying in school**

**Slowly killing me with stress**

**But hey! New Chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 9: Unforgotten Beckoning Warning

Interlude

_Fire._

_.Hot._

_Why is it hot?_

_Why?_

_Why?_

_Ah._

_It's cooler now._

_Very cold._

_Extremities._

_Incomprehensible._

_Warm._

_Need to get warm._

_Quickly!_

_Ah._

_I'm burning again…_

_Between this burning hell and frozen land…_

_There lie Paradise…_

End Interlude

**2/6**

Breakfast pass by quietly. Not a single word is spoken and everyone is deep in thought.

Ryuudouji temple was attacked. Time of assault: unknown. Assailant: unknown. Casualties: unknown. Whatever had gone down had been big, and none of them knew anything about it.

"There was nothing?" Sakura asks softly as she sips her tea.

"Aside from large gashes, nothing," Saber answers.

Running along the ground, the walls, the trees, everywhere. Deep grooves etched into the landscape. It was as if a great beast had raked its fingers across and attacked everything indiscriminately.

"Where was everyone?" Shirou mutters.

Shirou seems to be unable to accept that Ryuudouji temple was attacked to that extent. Among the monks there, one is his friend and another is a teacher. No news have been reported whether any of them were missing or hospitalized or anything. It was as if every inhabitant of the temple had just disappeared.

Something this big is definitely going to catch the public's attention.

But it hasn't.

No news, no reports, nothing. The TV didn't so much as mention the temple. It was as if the whole world had turned away from the temple and all those who had lived there.

"Is it really possible to hide something like that?" Rider asks.

"Not really," Sakura answers her. "Something that big must have caught the attention of someone. At the very least, the church should have noticed. The Mage Association will not stand idly by as civilians are caught in the crossfire as well."

"So the question is who would do something this large and open, and still manage to escape notice," Shirou says as he carefully refills Saber's cup.

"No, Shirou, the answer may be simpler," Saber replies. Everyone turns to face her. "Suppose this situation. Normally, a magus takes care to not let others, especially civilians, notice their movements. What happens when someone just doesn't care about it?"

"But Saber, wouldn't the Association step in then?" Shirou asks.

"But what if it was someone who didn't know about the Association?"

If someone didn't know of the Mage Association's rules, if someone is a novice magus, if someone who was entered into the war without knowing anything.

"That sounds a bit like the last war," Sakura mutters. "My grandfather told me that in the previous war, one of the Masters wasn't a proper magus and wreaked havoc on everything. Almost every other Master and Servant worked together to stop them and the church even stepped in to give extra incentive for controlling the damages."

"It's a possibility that can't be dismissed," Saber nods.

"Well, let's go over what we already know," Shirou suggests. "Mana from Shinto is flowing towards Ryuudouji, so we think that Caster had set up her workshop there."

"Yes, but even then it would have been difficult for Caster to break even with the amount of Prana that he would have needed to expend, unless of course, Caster is an exceptional Servant," Rider reminds them.

Shirou nods with Rider's explanation. "So let's suppose that Caster is exceptional and is getting some kind of profit from this. If something is attacking, we can assume that Caster will be able to fight back to some degree."

Saber raises a hand to stop him. "I understand where you are going from this logic," she interrupts him. "If Caster fought back, then we should have seen some kind of mark or residue Prana that indicates as such, correct?"

Shirou nods.

"We did not find such, so we may be able to assume that either Caster is less exceptional than we predicted, or that something managed to slip pass Caster's defense and defeated Caster without a spell being fired."

"You're good Saber," Shirou says in awe.

"Your reasoning is sound, though I feel is incorrect," she bows her head in apology. "I have no evidence to state the contrary, but… I just have a feeling…." She frowns at her vagueness.

"I-I see," Shirou rubs the back of his head sheepishly.

"I do not have the ability to tell if a Servant is defeated in an area, but that place… it cannot be called alive anymore."

"Eh? What do you mean, Saber?"

"I believe we mentioned that there were blackened areas that looks scorched. Had they been from a spell, then there would have been residue Prana present as well. However, I could sense nothing. Rather, there had been no Prana in the air at all."

Her grim demeanor contrasted the shocked expression of Rider and Sakura.

"But that's impossible!" Sakura nearly shouts.

"I am not specialized in detecting Prana in the atmosphere, but even I could tell that there was next to none, if not any, Prana remaining. Well, that and a sense of lifelessness of the temple."

Sakura's frown deepens. "Rider, we will be visiting Ryuudouji today. I want to see this for myself."

Rider nods resolutely.

"Senpai, next time, please tell me as well. While I am sure that Saber can defend you, I believe that much more can be accomplished if Rider and I are present as well."

"Alright, I apologize, Sakura."

"Well, we should be heading out now. Let's go Rider."

"Yes." Rider fades into her spirit form.

"I'll get the groceries then," Shirou offers. "You'll be heading in a different direction, so this will save you the trouble."

"I don't mind, Senpai. Can you pick up some scallops? I want to make seafood stew today."

"Sure."

Interlude

Shirou walks through the familiar street as he looks at the produce. While a majority of ingredients can found in stores, there are still a few street vendors. Once in a while, they have a nice find that is more than worth the time and effort to look at them.

Saber is at home, resting. Without a proper link to her, he cannot supply her with the Prana necessary to survive, so she is keeping her movements at a minimum so as to not use up all of her remaining Prana. That said, she made him promise that the moment something appears amiss that he would summon her immediately.

A simple trip to buy groceries should bar no trouble though.

"Ohayo! Onii-chan!"

Of course, trouble likes to raise the bar by itself.

"O-ohayo, Illya."

She frowns.

"S-sorry I blurted it out like that Illyasviel."

"Hmmm… I guess that I can accept Onii-chan saying it."

"Huh?"

"Illya. I'm allowing you to call me that, so be grateful, okay?"

"Uh- sure?"

"Are you out shopping again today? Let's play then!"

"Err, I can't, Illya. Saber would get really angry if I do."

The air freezes. A distortion wind. Anger. Pressure. Static engrains the domestic view. Ruby eyes stares blankly. Vertigo drops when the trigger pin is pulled. Tantrum. Pandemonium. Tandem.

"Mou-! If a lady asks you to spend some time with her, shouldn't you do so as a guy?"

"Wha-?"

"Hmph, you're so slow! I'm leaving."

With that, the little girl in silver and violet left.

Shirou could only look at her furthering back as she walks away without looking back. He has kept his promise with his Servant, but why does it feel as if something precious is also left behind?

He shakes his head as he turns away and walks back to his home. What's done is done, and there is no regretting it now. Besides, they are enemies in the first place. It wouldn't end with just this. This is merely the beginning.

End Interlude

Her eyes flutter as she gently rouses from her sleep. A dream of fire and swords. Nothing too unnatural. She has seen similar dreams before. A dream of rushing across an open field. A dream of fighting armored warriors. A dream of herself lay dying.

It was a bit different this time. A lone swordsman on a field of corpses. Is he one of among many? His eyes are dull. She didn't think that he could even see out of them anymore. They held anger. They held sadness. But most of all, they held regret. She can sympathize with him. She can understand that feeling well.

She doesn't know who he is. A knight she once fought against? Perhaps. There have been too many that she does not know them all.

Ding dong.

She shakes her head one last time to clear her head and head towards the kitchen. Shirou is already back, she can tell that much. So this must be Sakura. Shirou did say that Sakura had a habit of ringing the doorbell despite the fact that she practically lives here.

"And who's this woman, Onii-chan?"

Hurtling towards the kitchen, she sees the familiar Master of Berserker. Sitting calmly at the table as if she belonged there.

"Illyasviel!"

"Illya?"

"Eh-?"

While her armor is already donned, Shirou and Sakura are quite slow on the uptake.

"Ah-. Onii-chan was so cute. He didn't even realized that I followed him all the way back to his house."

Sakura and Saber slowly looked up at Shirou in incredulousness.

"She followed you back?" Saber asks slowly.

"Err-"

"And you didn't noticed it all this time?"

"He didn't even notice that I was hiding under the table all this time either!" the little girl quips happily.

Not knowing how to respond, Shirou looks around the room helplessly. If not for nothing, then so that he wouldn't have to look at the accusatory glances.

Saber shakes her head once. "Regardless, I will take your head here, Illyasviel!"

She prepares to charge, but the girl in question merely glances at her.

"I don't think you really mean that, since you know I can just summon Berserker whenever I want. I think that he can kill your Master far quicker then you can kill me. Or rather, even if you kill me, he will just continue to slaughter you regardless."

Illyasviel is only a few feet in front of her. She can cross that in less time then it takes to blink and can cut her down even faster than that. But the Command Crests that Illyasviel can use to counter are just as fast if not faster. Berserker could materialize there in the time it would take her to close the distance. Also, depending on the command, Berserker may still be capable of fighting even after his Master is dead.

"There's a pretty good bounded field set up, but it's easy enough to bypass if you know how," Illya giggles. "All I have to do is keep my killing intent suppressed and Shirou would never notice."

Though Saber does not lower her guard, Illyasviel does have a point. The bounded field around the Emiya residence is one of the best at detecting ill intent towards the inhabitants. Though it has no other offensive or defensive capabilities, its detection is second to none. For Illyasviel to enter without the alarms sounding means that she is not here for a fight. Yet.

"So what are you here for, Illyasviel-san?" Sakura asks. While Rider has not appeared yet, everyone knew that the moment something appears to threaten Sakura then Rider will materialize.

"Well, I was coming to propose an alliance with Onii-chan, but seeing you now makes me want to summon Berserker," she answers easily with a smirk.

"I am already allied with Senpai, Illyasviel-san," Sakura glares at the shorter girl.

"But if you're killed then the alliance is void and Onii-chan can come with me, right?"

"Umm… can we not fight in the dining room?" Shirou asks weakly.

Everyone ignores him.

"If you wish to fight here, Illyasviel, even you will not escape unscathed," Saber warns.

"Hmph," Illyasviel pouts. "Your Noble Phantasm is quite troublesome Saber. It might even bring down Berserker to his last legs."

She sighs.

"Well, I'm serious about the alliance though, Onii-chan. How about it?" She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear while looking away as if uninterested.

"What about Sakura? If you ally yourself with me, then you will have to do likewise with her," Shirou lays down his conditions.

"I am against this, Shirou," Saber argues. "We do not know if she can be trusted. She can kill us all the moment that our backs are turned."

"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't need to stab you in the back. Berserker would be enough. Or didn't you learn that on the first night, Saber?"

"What is your answer, Illya?" Shirou asks.

"Fine, I suppose that I can keep from killing her. But this war is going to have to resolve eventually. All we're really doing is delaying the inevitable."

"We are aware of that," Sakura answers. "If you feel that we can keep from killing each other until that time though, I suppose that this will beneficial to all of us."

"You think you have some way to trump, Berserker?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not," Sakura answers cryptically. "At the very least though, I could save the worry for Berserker later."

"A bigger worry than Berserker right now?" Illyasviel asks coolly.

"You might not agree, Illyasviel, but I believe that Tohsaka Rin and her Servant are far more dangerous."

"Hmm," Saber cups her chin and thinks. "I agree with you there, Sakura. Rin and Archer can be dangerous in their own ways."

"That weird Archer that tried to kill you on the first night? Oh yeah, I did say I was interested in him."

"Do you know who he is?"

"Nope. There's nothing that's connecting him to any legend or story. None that I know at least."

"Impossible," Saber frowns. "The Einzberns train their Master to be able to recognize every hero."

"Even so, there are still flaws. Yourself for instance."

"What does she mean, Saber?" Shirou asks.

"Legends and stories tend to get twisted as they age."

"That's right. Also, this depends on my ability to actually recognize something that would attribute a legend to a hero. Like a famous weapon or ability."

"-Fake Spiral Sword," Shirou mutters.

"What's that Senpai?"

"Hm? Ah nothing. I was just thinking about the sword that Archer shot."

"Sword? Not arrow?" Saber looks at him quizzically.

"No, it definitely looked like a sword. It was coiled alabaster white with gold and azure."

"Alabaster?" Saber raises an eyebrow.

"Err- well, it looked really delicate," Shirou rubs the back of his head. "Despite the fact that it blasted the entire area."

Illyasviel closes her eyes as she thinks. "It sounds like Caladbolg."

"The Spire of Distorted Light?"

"You know of it, Saber?"

"It is said that when swung it will complete the arc of the rainbow and that when thrust will twist and distort space to pierce its target."

"It has passed through many hands, including that of Cu Chulainn's. However, it is most associated with the Ulster hero Fergus mac Leda," Illya finishes Saber's explanation.

"But that doesn't make any sense. I don't ever recall Fergus being an archer, and if Archer is Fergus then there shouldn't be any fighting at all when Senpai witnessed his fight with Lancer."

"Why's that, Sakura?"

"We know that Lancer is Cu Chulainn. If we assume that Archer is Fergus, or even if he is just Ulster-born, and he has Caladbolg, then Lancer should have lost due to his geas."

"That's true," Saber contemplates. "But only if Archer also knew that Lancer is Cu Chulainn at that time."

"Well, during that time he wasn't fighting with Caladbolg."

"What?"

"He was fighting with these distinct black and white swords. They looked a bit like Chinese daos."

"Wait, wait, Caladbolg is a European legend and sword, why would he have both Eastern and Western weapons?"

"More than that, remember what happened to Caladbolg?"

The question needs no answer.

Broken Phantasm.

Saber sighs. "I keep thinking that with every discovery Archer just keeps getting further and further away from the concept of a hero."

"What I want to know is why Archer would sacrifice his Noble Phantasm so early on in the war," Sakura murmurs. "What benefit does he gain from this?"

"Concealing his identity?" Shirou offers.

"No, we don't know enough to gain any insight to him, and even if we did he acts too unpredictably."

"He must have a good reason. A very very good reason."

"Well, he was up against Berserker."

"So was I and I certainly did not feel the need to use a Broken Phantasm."

Their conversation continues.

And thus, with Illyasviel added as an ally, plans and strategies are made under the roof of the Emiya household.

Interlude

"So what are you going to do now, Rin?" Archer asks as he sweeps his eyes over the city below.

"Find out what has happened. You said that Ryuudouji was attacked, but I haven't heard anything about it."

"Indeed. Whoever did it made sure to conceal their tracks. Well, it'll only work for a little while, but a whole temple full of monks disappearing is going to stir attention."

"Exactly, but by that time connections to the culprit may fade so we have to work fast. Do you have any ideas?"

"Not particularly," Archer states carelessly. He doesn't bother to look at her and continues watching the city flow below. Though there are less people, he can still make out the individuals who still walk the night.

"Hmm…. Another topic then, since I obviously don't have your attention."

"Oh? I don't really see the need to worry about Ryuudouji. If an enemy is defeated, then all the better for us. Even if it was by someone stronger, all we have to do is crush them utterly."

Rin sighs. "Damn you are similar."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking that you and Emiya are really similar."

Archer freezes and looks at her in disdain. "What are you talking about?" The very thought seems abhorrent to him.

"In a word," Rin pauses as she thinks. "Simple… I guess?"

"Poor taste in jokes, Rin," Archer sighs.

"Oh?" Rin smirks. "Did I touch a nerve? Well, I was half-joking."

"So you were half serious then."

"That is such a cliché reply."

Archer shrugs as if to admit defeat. "So before this tangent, you were saying?"

"What do you think of Rider?"

"Violet," comes the quick reply.

"Just that?"

"Well, that's the first thing that comes to my mind. Violet and black."

"I meant about her identity."

"You have a clue?"

"Two. The bounded field was called Blood Fort Andromeda, and though she never finished the name for the second attack, I think she was calling out Bellerophon."

"So you think…?"

"That she is Perseus," Rin finishes.

"-What?"

"It wouldn't be the first time that legends and myths have gotten distorted. According to mythology, Andromeda was the wife of Perseus; and while Bellerophon was the one who tamed the Pegasus, even in classical mythology the role was often shifted to Perseus. It wouldn't be too far of a stretch to think that Rider may be Perseus."

"Putting aside the matter of her gender of course," Archer points out.

"Who knows, maybe Andromeda was actually a guy. Or Perseus just swung that way," Rin smirks.

"Perhaps there is a more direct relationship between them?" Archer offers.

"Hmm… I can't really think of another hero who would name their Noble Phantasms after other heroes."

"…" Archer stays silent. What else could he say?

End Interlude

"Are you sure you should be patrolling tonight, Shirou?"

"Don't worry about me Saber. I'll be fine. I just want to see if there are any other clues lying around."

"About Ryuudouji?"

"Not just Ryuudouji. About anything. Sakura knows a lot about Magecraft and Illya knows a lot about the war. You and Rider also contributed a lot to the discussions. I feel like I'm just dragging you guys down, so I want to at least try to help."

"As admirable as your conviction is, I believe that you're going at it the wrong way."

"Sorry. This is really the only way that I can think of helping."

"Not at all, Shirou. You help out plenty, such as cooking. Also, I feel that you act as our de facto leader."

"Thanks, Saber. But can we continue for a bit more?"

"Of course," Saber states with a smile. "By the way, you seem to have gotten close to Illyasviel. You even started calling her 'Illya.'"

"What about you? You and Sakura are becoming close friends quickly."

"She is a good girl who puts others before her, no matter what she may say. You're lucky to have her as a friend."

"What are you talking about? You're her friend too."

"Friend…" Saber frowns. "I wonder if we will still be after the war."

"Of course you'll be friends even after the war. We'll figure something out. It's not just us. Sakura's with us and Rider is too. So are Illya and Berserker."

"How naïve," Saber frowns. "But I suppose that optimism is what will hold us together."

"How mean," Shirou complains but laughs. "Once we find a lead, we'll bring it up with Sakura and Rider."

"Very well," Saber returns with a smile. "Let us do what we can then."

Interlude

"Do you understand, Lancer?"

"Not at all," comes the casual reply.

"Good, a dog needs only to obey, not question."

"Why you-!"

"If you have that much energy, then I have another mission for you."

"Oi, oi, how about you actually do something for once instead of just sending me on errands all the time?"

"And leave the Church unattended? What if someone were to come?"

"Yeah, yeah, you can leave out the sarcasm."

"Oh? I was being quite sincere."

"… Whatever. So what did you want me to do?"

"I would like you to make contact with one of the Masters."

"Please don't tell me that you took the tea party idea seriously."

"What you do is up to your discretion. However, I desire results this time, so I will have you follow my orders. With a Command Crest if necessary, which I believe will be."

"…"

"Surely you have heard about what happened at Ryuudouji Temple. It is something that I cannot overlook as the overseer of this Grail War."

"What's with the fake priest act all of a sudden?"

"I'm always sincere in my occupation."

"I don't see how this connects to me having to chat with a Master, unless you're talking about Caster's Master whom I'm pretty sure is dead by now."

"Of course not. Caster's Master is most certainly dead after whatever had occurred at Ryuudouji that night. No, I want you to meet up with a certain Master who will be dealing with this. And assist in anyway you can."

An immense amount of pressure constricts Lancer's mind and body. Like a geas, the command is set and he turns to fulfill his duties.

'One more,' he counts.

End Interlude

"Konbanwa, Onii-chan."

"Illya?"

"What are you doing here, Illyasviel?"

"Hmm…"

"?"

"Since I've let Onii-chan call me Illya, I'll let you call me Illya as well, Saber," the girl smiles.

"I refuse," Saber states bluntly. "We are still not quite allies just yet."

"Saber!"

"Indiscriminately removing someone as a potential enemy will only bring you trouble later, Shirou."

"Regardless, can we not act respectfully to each other?"

"… I suppose you have a point," Saber concedes. "My apologies Illyasviel, however I do not feel we are close enough to share such names."

"Oh well," Illyasviel smirks. "I didn't really expect Saber to agree anyways. She's always such a stickler."

"Well, I can't argue with you there," Shirou chuckles good-naturedly.

"Really now?" Saber asks coolly as she glances at him.

"Er….. ahem. You sound like you've known Saber from before," Shirou dodges Saber's glance.

"Eh?" Illyasviel looks shocked. "She hasn't told you who she is?"

"Since I don't have any defenses against mental intrusions, we decided that it would be best if she kept her identity to herself," Shirou quickly explains.

"Hmm…" Illyasviel puts a finger to her mouth as she thinks. "Ne, ne, ne. Onii-chan, look this way for a bit."

"Eh?"

Shirou's eyes meet Illyasviel's and he froze.

"What are you doing Illyasviel?"

"Oh hush it, Saber. Wow! Your mind really is blank. Anyone can just break you to pieces, Onii-chan!" She blinks and looks away from him.

"Shirou! Are you okay?" Saber asks as she shakes him slightly.

"W-what was that?" Shirou shouts once Illyasviel looks away from him.

"I wanted to see how weak your mental defenses were, Onii-chan," Illyasviel states with a smile. "They were so weak, anyone could just walk right in and plant false thoughts."

"Are you okay, Shirou?" Saber asks again, quickly assessing him for damage while glaring at Illyasviel.

"I'm fine, Saber. I saw this forest… and I felt like I became a tree or something."

"That's because I just took your mind and placed it inside a tree. And some walls. And a chair."

"You did what?" Saber shouts indignantly.

"Transference of consciousness. There are nerves connecting your eyes to your brain, right? I just connected them to different objects instead."

"S-so I 'saw' what the trees saw and mistook that as me becoming a tree?" Shirou asks shakily.

"You're pretty bright despite looking so dull most of the time," Illya smiles. "That's right. Think of it as changing the inputs while still leaving the human known as Emiya Shirou alone. It's a pretty big deal to change a person into a tree, but it's still within the realms of Magecraft. Possession works on the same principles as well, so you'd be open to that sort of attacks, Onii-chan."

"W-wow… I couldn't do anything at all. Could you have used that to nullify an opponent."

"Theoretically," Illyasviel answers. "Our specialties are in the flow and transfer of power. Tohsaka as well should be able to do something like this since they have such a high affinity with jewels. They're able to transfer their Prana into jewels without diluting the purity so they should be able to do the same to someone's consciousness using the same technique.

"But the chances of success of transferring someone into a jewel or doll is so low that no sane magus would utilize it as an attack."

She twirls and smiles brightly. "Since you were so trusting and didn't resist at all and the forest belonged to me, the transfer was a success. Normally it's a lot harder than this."

"Err…" Shirou rubs the back of his head, not knowing how to respond.

Before she could chide Illyasviel for playing with Shirou's mind, the young girl quickly turns around and runs.

"Phew-!" Illyasviel yawns audibly. "I'm going back to bed. Good night, Onii-chan!"

In the lonely night, lit only by streetlamps, the silvery fairy of Einzbern walks gracefully back to her bed.

"Honestly," Saber sighs. "Just what is that girl thinking? This meeting was so contrived it isn't even funny."

"Hmm," Shirou glances up at the sky as he thinks. "Maybe she felt bad and wanted to pay me back."

Saber only looks at him quizzically.

Shirou scratches his cheek as he explains, "I think she felt bad that she followed me home without me knowing so she came here to show me the way to her place."

"If so, then this is quite a roundabout way to show her apology," Saber frowns with her hands on her hips.

"I guess that's just how she is," Shirou grins.

Interlude

"Tch-"

Writhe. WRiThE. wRIThe.

"Damn the stench is horrible here."

sQUirm. SquIRM. SqUirm.

"Even in death, the boundary is still up? ….No. Caster's work should be of a much higher grade than this."

"Hmph."

A sneer.

"How crude indeed."

A golden hair man walks through the temple grounds.

Ryuudouji is no more. Only the corpse of the temple is left and now it is decaying. The wondrous and sweet scent of the rotting carcass wafts in the still air.

Dressed in casual clothes, the golden hair man moves through the grounds without fear, without hesitation, without veneration. He only holds contempt for the scene before him.

His steps echo loudly as if to notify all of his presence.

"Disgusting vermin," he clicks his tongue.

Leeches, spiders, and other creatures are gnawing on the corpse. The place is clearly evil. It is clearly poisonous. But at the same time, it is wasteful. To leave such a meal behind is almost sinful.

Worms wriggle and writhe as they hurry to move away from his presence.

"Disgusting."

They fear him.

cLAMbEr. SLitHEr.

For he is greater than they.

He stands in front of a large lake.

The water is no longer pristine. It is polluted. Black as tar and just as thick, a beckoning death for all. A mud that corrupts and a toxin that shares a fate far worse than death. And yet, its purity is incomparable to its surroundings.

Yes. If ichor is the purity that runs through the classical gods, then this taint must be just as pure.

"Shouldn't have happened this soon though. What went wrong?"

A goblet with too much wine.

"Did the container consume too much? I doubt that witch could have gotten that much on her own…"

The golden hair man quickly skims his eyes across the black watery surface. It is still. No living being could possibly exist in, on, or anywhere near the pool of death. The stagnant air keeps the waters still as well. Despite the darkness, the shimmering stars could be clearly seen on its unbroken surface. It may be the most beautiful mirror of the sky this night.

"-!"

But only for that instance.

The golden hair man jumps backwards as the water erupts and numerous black tendrils reach for him.

"Oh? Were you the one to kill the witch here?"

It cries without a voice.

The tendrils attack again. They are relentless in their pursuit. Multiple attacks from multiple directions at a blinding speed. Even the swiftest of Servants would be hard pressed to evade them.

But there was never a need to evade them.

In an instant the attack is conducted. In an instant the attack is stopped.

A shower of lights and swords.

Throwing up the black water as the rain indiscriminately skewers everything in front of the golden hair man.

The tendrils are pinned and its body is wrecked. Red is black on this night and its blood is indistinguishable from the water.

"-"

"-"

"-"

It whimpers. It must be in so much pain.

Crying without a voice.

It tries to reach out without an arm.

"Still alive? You are clinging too miserably to your life."

His arm is raised.

An executioner's ax.

His arm falls.

Descends.

The merciless mercy of death.

"How unsightly."

He turns and walks away from the carnage.

A whisper.

In his ear.

"These streets are getting dangerous these days. You might want to be more cautious."

His eyes barely widen before -

The sound of ripped flesh.

Red is black on this night and blood is indistinguishable from the water.

End Interlude

* * *

**Tiger Dojo**

Tiger stylized screen doors open to a dojo.

Taiga: Welcome to the sixth day!

Taiga: This is the place where heroes meet their end!

Illya: I thought that was supposed to be the Throne of Heroes?

Taiga: Regardless. First Student!

Illya: Here!

Taiga: What did you think of this chapter? Answer in seven words or less!

Illya: It sucked worse than a black hole!

Taiga: Seven words exactly. Not bad.

Illya: What about you?

Taiga: Why haven't I shown up yet?

Illya: That's only six words, Sensei!

Taiga: Chestoooooooo!

Illya: Gahck!- I stand corrected...

Illya: Seriously though, Sensei. You've already shown up!

Taiga: For about two scenes! Then I had to make a hasty exit.

Illya: Sad isn't Taiga?

Taiga: Well, crying won't get me anywhere. So what else do you want to talk about now that we've established that this chapter sucked because I'm not in it.

Illya: Well, I thought it was bad because of the sub-par explanation of the concepts.

Taiga: What?

Illya: What we were discussing about the transference of consciousness.

Taiga: I thought that it was pretty solid.

Illya: That was because you didn't understand anything about it.

Taiga: Nothing at all!

Illya: Geez. I can't believe that pitiful excuse of an explanation actually made it into the draft.

Taiga: We could have gone on for an entire dissertation but that would have just taken up needless space.

Illya: Anything if it meant that I got a little bit more screen time!

Taiga: So it came back to that in the end...

Illya: Well, I guess we'll end it here today.

Taiga: Bye-bye!

Tiger stylized screen doors close.

Taiga: Jaa... I feel that this dojo is getting less and less important with every chapter.

Illya: Don't worry. I don't think we were that important in the first place.

* * *

**Even with school work, I had a bit of this already written out so I decided to upload it before I procrastinate... again. I apologize for the quality since stress and fatigue is taking a bit of a toll. There have been a few reviews that have made me sit back and reassess what I've already written, what I am writing, and what I plan to write. I thank you for them. It's at times like these that I retreat back to the domain of fanfictions to escape reality.**


End file.
